a unix nerd on riding bikes
jwz is a well-respected geek (original Netscape guy, etc.) who apparently rides bikes. He can code circles around me in his sleep, blindfolded, using his pinkie toes. Still, I’ve never heard of anyone who has reportedly ridden bikes so much for so long with so little interest in cycling culture or knowledge about bikes. Srsly, if you’ve been bike commuting daily for 10 years, paying a bike shop $20 to fix a flat is like a unix geek paying an intern $20 to write a 2-minute shell script. There’s nothing wrong with riding a nice bike with smooth tires for your daily commute.
Good advice: #2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17
Bad advice: #1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 13
Stupifyingly bad advice: #7
My next post: a comprehensive, definitive, well-reasoned list of advice on programming… because i’ve been writing AppleScripts and PHP for 10 years now!
ps: please don’t hammer your axles over trying to keep someone from stealing your wheels. sheesh, already. srsly.
6 Responses to “a unix nerd on riding bikes”
Personally, I think it was “written for” the author. There’s a certain kind of nerd who thinks and lives in absolutes. “Often wrong, but seldom in doubt.”
I’ve found they sometimes have interesting perspectives, but are in no manner interested in broadening their rigidly established horizons.
I liked his attitude, even though some of the ideas annoyed me. #7 is probably why his bike shop charges him double.
this guy’s stuff is a bore. also, he’s dead wrong on many counts. i’ve ridden 25mm 100 psi slick tires on gravel/dirt roads for ten miles straight with nary a pinch flat, for one example. and i weigh 200 pounds.
and really, only lazy doofuses spend $20 to fix a goddamn flat. sigh.
I agree that much of this is bad advice to give to someone else. If I was going to write something like this, I’d preface it with, “This is not advice for you! This is how I do it, and it works for me!”
However:
if you’ve been bike commuting daily for 10 years, paying a bike shop $20 to fix a flat is like a unix geek paying an intern $20 to write a 2-minute shell script.
If you’re a Unix Geek of his pay-grade, he might actually be losing money if it takes him 15 minutes to fix. It’s a problem I wish I had.
the best part of his list was that he deleted all the comments that showed how stupid his advice was.
classic.
Obviously some questionable advice mixed in there, but it seems to be written for folks who have no interest in developing an interest in bikes, or in cycling as anything but pure, non-fun utility. I must admit that his approach is probably in line with the goal of true cheapskate cycling, but that doesn’t explain the reluctance to do basic maintenance.
I expect we’ll see more people following a similar philosophy in coming years as they cobble up their Magnas and what not.