Fame at last

[andygates]

Yay! I'm famous! Sorta... Treehugger, the environmental blog, have used a phone-snap of my excellent helmet hair the other summer as an illustration for a piece on the evils of helmet hair.

Irony:  I don't normally wear one, and that was a leisure mountainbiking trip, entirely non-essential, which I drove to on my own.  A little training before the Loch Lomond triathlon, I think.

Double irony: the survey is bogus.  "No one wants to arrive at work covered in sweat and smelling like body odor" addresses, at best, a perceived problem, not an actual one (ride slower, you dorks).  But it's a perfect excuse, making it sound like you care and putting the weird bike tribe down while not having to do anything.  The real reason people don't bike is inertia.  But "I can't be arsed to investigate the possibilities" doesn't come up often on forms.

Comments

[teahisme.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I could walk to half the place in Bristol without getting stinky (thank you hills). How is that a cop out for not wanting to bike? Also frankly I have a hard enough time crossing the streets here without getting hit. I don't think I should increase my odds of accidental suicide by plopping my back side on a bike.

I take the bus. I'm afraid that is as ecofriendly as I can be in the land of rain with hills.

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

The article is one of the worst pieces of journalism I've seen ever. There are no references, statements are thrown at us without any justification, the writing is shoddy and disjointed, and the whole thing is completely pointless. "Does Helmet Hair Contribute to Climate Change?" WTF?

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Bike's easier than walking, you're sat down :)

[andygates.livejournal.com]

It's just total blog salad, isn't it?

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

The stated reason is most often perceived risk, not smelling like a caveman when you get there. The real reason is generally can't-be-arsed and the idea that it's somehow difficult.

That article is just shite.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Cave stench is a commonly-stated reason; not as much as "increasing odds of accidental suicide" but still pretty common. People are such delicate flowers. We need more fell-runner gumption!

[arabis.livejournal.com]

I still defy anyone to cycle up Park St without raising a hint of sweat! If I cycle slower then I go backwards, which doesn't help. Luckily work has a shower, so no excuses for me.

Love your hat hair photo.

[sciolist.livejournal.com]

I work in IT, arriving at work with a whiff of BO about you is actually a career advancement ploy. If you smell bad enough they promote you to having your own office.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Ride until tough, then get off and walk. Worked for me for years!

[andygates.livejournal.com]

...and that's beside the whole bizarre thing of hating people who smell like people, which is getting to the preposterous stage now. Somewhere in the human future, we're all RealDolls. Ick.

[xeeny.livejournal.com]

And people think twice about talking to you.

[xeeny.livejournal.com]

Mind you, both Andy and Simon get that for free anyway.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

I find that being intimidatingly weird is good for that. Muttering about your thermite or pennyfarthing is a good way to get left nicely alone. :)