BSNYC o ansamblu Whitesnake:
Like a cancer diagnosis after decades of smoking, the invasion of Pearl Harbor after a century of isolationism, or the day you finally admit to yourself that you should not have gotten that Whitesnake tattoo, this was the moment when the reality of the situation became undeniable and I realized that my life would be changed forever.

Scott o jutjubu:
There’s plenty of fodder on YouTube for making fun of hipsters, fixie riders, MTBers, BMXers and whatnot, but what do roadies post to YouTube besides that one ride where Lance burned Jan on L’Alpe D’Huez?

Jim o cestarjih in Materi Terezi:
Scott – we post videos of roadies getting into fistfights in roadraces (filed under Humor, Pathetic), long boring rambles about how bad we suffered in a local roadrace or training ride, pictures of our disgusting roadrash, more wattage figures, and bitchy comments on other peoples’ websites. It is all endlessly fascinating to other roadracers. Sure, it ain’t much, but when you give up food, booze, your social life, and the idea that your legs aren’t supposed to hurt all the time, you don’t have a lot left. It’s like joining the priesthood, except you date women and are probably going to hell for wanting to go all Inquisition on most car operators. On the positive side, roadracers typically have much higher hematocrit levels than your average Franciscan, though we committed the sin of envy w/r/t Mother Theresa, for being able to maintain her 91 pound pure climber’s build seemingly effortlessly.

Todd o cf vodi in anon o vibracijah:
todd: Um…how would you feel about partnering up on the big invention I’ve been working on- CARBON FIBER WATER!Just imagine the nerds who’d line up to pay through the nose for high tech water that weighs only half as much as regular water. Cause really, what’s the point in having a 14lb bike if you’re gonna load it up with 6lbs of water? I got my Mr. Wizard’s Junior Chemist Kit up and running in my garage and the molecular blueprints are already on file at the US Patent Office. With your laser guided water bottle filled with my water, we could make millions Snob, millions*.
*tole je najbrž Kenny Banja: this is gold Jerry, gold I tell you
Anonymous said… the cf water would go nicely with the scandium catheter i’m currently marketing for raam. one hitch though; due to it’s rigidity (note: it will absorb road vibrations), i’ve had to make some after market modifications which have put me in patent conflict with the bendy straw folks.

DrOnyx o Slaku:
O kvaliteti same produkcije človečkov bi morali vendarle kakšno reči še zdravniki, ki dobijo v roke sem ter tja tudi koga, ki si ne zasluži SiQ certifikata in to ne po lastni krivdi. Seveda nam pa po TV kažejo same popolne ljudi (z izjemo Slaka, ki je pa v bistvu samo nevrotičen).

BSNY o kongresnikih:
the car creeping along a narrow street in search of parking a space like a congressman trolling for a hooker

Presneto, preveč berem bsnyc.
Včeraj sem bil po dolgem času v Ljubljani. Ne v Ljubljani na železniški postaji in direktiva v biro. Ne v Ljubljani skozi fužine v biro. V Ljubljani. Na tromostovju, mimo mačka, po židovski, en mali krogec, ko imaš pol ure občutek da si v pravem mestu.
Zagledam spimpanega ponija in kaj pomislim: damn hipsters and their fixies . Ne, brez skrbi, fiksija še nisem videl. Baje pa so že pri nas. Ampak v pravem kontekstu. Vozijo jih geeki (kao poznavalci) in ne tipi ki sedijo pred mačkom ali žmavcem. Aja tudi mimo žmavca sem šel. Tiste mesarije zraven ni več. Pa računalniška trgovina na vogalu je ratala trendi bufet.
Pri šentjakobskem mostu vidim prizor, da me je skoraj na rit vrglo. Kolona ene 10 avtomobilov čaka na semaforju da se iz Krakovskega nasipa vključi na Zoisovo.
Škoda da nimamo pri nas craigslista: You were riding a Focus mountainbike with maxxis tires. Fully dressed up in lycra with camelback, spd’s and everything. I saw you waiting at the stoplight in the row with other cars. Why? You’re narrow enough to drive by the waiting line instead of taking 4m of precious space for another car to drive through red. And why, oh why on earth were you wearing red red lipstick on a bike ride? Just wondering.

P.S.: Razlaga neznanih pojmov sledi v komentarjih, če bo koga zanimalo. Čebela računam nate.

slovenska verzija

Introduction

Which climb is the hardest? The one with the most altitude meters gained? The one with the steepest average gradient? The one with the steepest section? Which climb is the hardest in Slovenia, Vršič, Kum, Sveta Gora, perhaps Jelenov klanec? Debates like tis are always dwelling among the cyclists. Guys on the salite.ch website have devised a cunning plan, well a formula, that recognizes all of the factors mentioned above and some more; this is the link to the page explaining the formula: www.salite.ch/struttura/indice_diff_en.asp. They have a groving database of climbs, more than 8000 of them and growing. The climb rated toughest by their formula is the climb to Scanuppia from Bessenello. The Climb. Off course this is the one to climb. This thought stuck in my thick head. So I had a look around, gather the infos, where the heck is Bessenello. It isn’t that far, actually. Lousy 350 km from Slovenian border, above Verona in a glacial valley connecting Verona and the city of Trento. Rising above the valley is Scanuppia plateau, plateau is a vague term for a inclined mountain side with pastures and in the lower part filled with weekend cottages. Top part is protected area, some sort of nature reserve or a national park.

Troubles finding the climb

During the logistic preparations I read some of the descriptions, that I found on the internet. They all had one serious deficiency. None of them actually describes where (the hell) the climb starts. Damn. The road is very well hidden, it’s understandable, taken that it’s extremely dangerous for a standard car. A Dutchman even wrote that this road is used mainly by the members of the local 4×4 club. Apparently membership of this club consists mainly of Dad’s with family’s and a Fiat Panda’s 4×4. And they all own a weekend cottage on Scanuppia. Seriously, the road was made and is maintained for and by the cottage owners, many of them.

How to get to the beginning of the climb? As you arrive in Bessenello, go to the quarry that is located in a gorge above the Bessenello in the direction of the Folgaria. You can get to the quarry by taking literary any road heading uphill. Except the one heading to the castle. Some 100 meters before the quarry the road turns left over the bridge, and you see the famous 45% sign, and those 45% are realistic!

The climb

I start the climb by shifting to the easiest gear on my faithful mtb, 22-34. The concrete road starts to rise effortlessly . How appropriate, the road is also the way of the cross. Every 50 or 100 meters there’s a station. As I ride along, I try to remember how many stations are there? Already I’m on the number 14, I guess this means the suffering’s over? By the road is a little cavern carved in the wall. There are 3 chairs for the tired pilgrims that managed to get to the final station. But the road only just started to wind up. It leads through a rock wall that reminds me of Mt. Triglav north face. OK I’m exaggerating just a tad. It feels that way looking from the top.

The photos simply just dont show the real steepnes. Position on the bike is awkward, to put it mildly. I try to keep the centre of gravity between front and rear wheel. I lack experience on these kind of 30%+ steep roads. Concrete road luckily grips very well, thank you. There’s no sand except on the edges. I cycle to really absurdly steep corner, steepnes goes well over 45%. I try to zig-zag. It doesn’t work very well. The road is very narrow and you immediately find yourself on the sandy edge of the road. That means crevasse on the one side and rocky wall on the other. Translation efforts are too much for me.

picasaweb.google.com/ZigaK13/Scanuppia

altitude profile

List of the climbs

Descent idea:

www.ruotalpina.it

picasaweb.google.com/paglia1964/Scanuppia

The other day, my wife an I were watching Two and a Half men. There was this scene, where Charlie, his brother and the half wit barged in his mother’s house. I don’t know why. Anyway, she and her friend, played by Richard Wagner were about to pull a McNasty, and there was this funny line about a leather gear, and a guy in the public starts laughing out loud. Nobody else in the public laughs but him. I say to my wife:
- hey, did you hear this guy laughing?
- Yes.
- I know this guy.
- Really? How’s that?
- Well, I don’t really know him, but I read his blog on the internet. And just the other day, he was telling me that he was on the set of Two and a half men, and that he chose “a moment when the rest of the audience was laughing relatively quietly to let out a good horse laugh”.
- He was telling you?
- Yes, to me and to a million other pathetic losers like me.
Jeez how lame is this. I know a guy in America better than my real life friends. This virtual reality really sucks.

Ahhh, this brings back memories :)

I used to play this game like crazy through the whole night. So simple, yet so addictive.
Left: “.” “;” or “?”

Right: space

Jump: Shift

www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0002658

Try this site for your favorite game: http://www.zxspectrum.net/