Welcome to the Kermis. It’s not a recycling, it’s a reintroduction. The idea is to repost an old article that still resonates today and see where it goes. We will endeavor not to abuse this feature.
I’ve referred to Frank’s fantastic Perfect Amount of Dumb article at least five times in my own posts. My reference is usually that I’m dumb but it’s cycling related dumb. I’ve got the dumb part covered, not the Motorcus part. I so love his unexpected title and the post, it needs to do another lap.
I was just watching Tyler Mini Phinney’s post Dubai TT interview thinking, this kid has the perfect amount of dumb to be great. He shops at the Big and Tall shop, so I like him already. And his brain is way up there, in the thin air, so he choses his words carefully, like climbers at 8,000 meters. He’s got It.
No American Cyclist has won a Monument. Abandy has won more Monuments than LeMan? Merckx forgive me for uttering that last sentence. Greg was our last best chance but this new Phinney-Carpenter hybrid might somehow, someday get on the stones, get really incensed, and prove he has the perfect amount of dumb.
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Watching post race interviews, Phinney is definitely "the perfect amount of dumb"- at least, whilst he's currently sporting a riduculous hairdo he wears a cycling cap, not a baseball cap, for interviews. In contrast to Kittel, who's also got an idiotic hairdo, and wears the wrong headwear.
The right amount of dumb is by far the best way to describe how these guys get the results they do. In my less articulate way of describing their talents, I would explain to my non cycling friends how I couldn't get the same results if given their talents, and they would win a lot more races at my level if they had my abilities.
Didn't Tyler podium at the Giro with a broken coller bone he got on stage 3? Ironically the tests for narcotics are much better than those for PED's. You can't dope grit brothers and sisters.
Looks like some of the traceable PED substances could be history anyway based on this http://road.cc/content/news/110533-xenon-next-big-thing-legal-doping
The right kind of dumb: that's the bit. Stupid doesn't qualify.
My best friend has a saying about me: "Hi, my name is John, and my favorite color is clear." I'm not the least bit stupid, but dumb, maybe a touch clueless? Yes, sometimes.
The key thing is that it never occurs to you to quit. Why the fuck would you even consider it? Abandoning is antithetical to our art.
@scaler911 Spot on, and my bad on raising the dopage discussion. I'll be tired enough of it by the time the Grand Tours come around if not before. Somehow I got on that topic from raising Hamilton's LBL win.
@Ron
A-Merckx, brother! Separating the two is key, otherwise you'll just starting hating it.
@Cjcosgrove
True enough, but even then when you read about the '84 road race, one a few of the members of the team were OK doing it and actually went ahead with it.
Pappa Phinney was known as being vehemently anti-doping, even back then.
@Al__S
I'm amazed at how classy he is. He looks great, loves style, is funny, and just seems to be comfortable in his own skin.
Possibly the only person I can think of who could eventually fill Cipo's shoes as far as showmanship goes.
@frank Except he fudged the whole frame-size thing since these photos were posted: At the Dubai Tour he was racing with this oddball combination. A -17 stem that appears to be 130-140mm long - so far so good. But then a healthy 20-30mm of spacers? Seems like the lad does need a larger frame after all if he wants to remain as fantastic-looking as usual... Or ditch the TMR01 for something with the head-tube he needs.
@scaler911 Totally agree with you...enough of the discussion about doping. Let's get on with the joy of the V! Hope you are enjoying the snowstorm here in Portland Scaler...can't even get out of our house and more snow on the way!