Zippy the Pinhead said:Hello.
I am about 2 meters tall and weigh about 100 Kg. That's 6'7" and 220 for you Euro-challenged
readers, if indeed there are any on this list, being's how this ng seems populated with
anti-American Euro cycle snobs.
I ride bikes. A Schwinn Continental, vintage about 1984, ten-speed, with a 71 cm (28"😉 frame (not a
typo) and a RANS recumbent V^2 if you need to know. I wear pants with a 38" inseam. And yes, these
bikes get exactly the looks you'd expect from the likes of [censored] Mascarponi the Style God of
this ng. I don't give a rat's ass, I'm not riding to put on a show but to burn off some fat.
I also drive an SUV. A Ford Explorer. Why? Well, I don't test-drive cars, I try them on. I sit in
them and if they fit, I then consider a purchase. Since Euro-Style has taken over, cars just don't
fit me. I have a military service-connected problem with one of my knees that keeps me from
squatting down far enough to enter the kind of car that you all would like me to drive. I need
headroom. I could wear a cowboy hat in my Explorer if I wanted to (which I really don't), but when
I sit in one of the politically correct cars, I could use a sun-roof to stick my head through. Not
even all SUVs fit me; the Dodge Derange-O has a high enough ceiling, but the morons who designed it
decided it would be cool to have the roofline in front extend down into the windshield area, and
I'll be Goddamned if I'll duck down to watch the signal lights change. I'll also be Goddamned if
I'll drive around with my knees up under my chin.
Now, I'm not a college professor or anything like most of you all seem to be, so I really don't
know what is best for everyone else, but I sure as hell know what's best for me.
The politics of all this really amuses me. The guy in the big van who parks in the handicapped
space is driving alone, and he's burning every bit as much gas as me, but my abnormal size doesn't
cut any [censored] when it comes to convincing folks that I need to drive the car I drive. His wheelchair
isn't something I'd want, but he gets a pass. The soccer mom parking at Marshall Fields drove in
alone, but she's probably a staunch Democrap because she's got an NPR sticker on her bumper, so
she's safe too. But I'm some kind of an eco-terrorist because I drive an SUV. Total strangers feel
entitled to give me a piece of their mind about it. (Not that I'm ungrateful, mind you, because
most of them don't seem to have much mind to spare.)
Until and unless the dipshits who design cars come to the awful realization that we can't all be
built like Tom Daschle, I'll continue to drive my SUV, and all of you automotive fascists can go
[censored] up a rope, [censored] you very much.
Interesting thoughts. Drive what you like, and feel free to burn as much gas as you can afford to
pay for. (and ride whatever bike floats your boat)
But I still don't get the Explorer thing. A mini-van has as much or more room for the driver, and
unless you pull something, are way better vehicles. My only objections to SUVs is thay don't have to
meet the same emission regs as cars (and there is certainly no reason they can't), and that for the
vast majority of people they are a really stupid design that is neither sporty, nor offers much
utility. And to be honest, it is the latter that really bothers me. For some reason, millions of
people have been convinced that SUVs really are a useful design, when, really they are crappy to
drive, handle badly, ride badly, offer little interior space given the size of the exterior, get
poor mileage, aren't as good as a car in 99% of the snow conditions encountered by most people, and
are of atiquated design. They are, however, nice for pulling a trailer.
Bob
