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New Ride: Soma Smoothie 54

This weekend I am building the first full road bike I’ve ever owned.  After weighing the cost/benefit options of steel verses carbon, I elected to go with a steel frame on purpose:

  1. I am not going to race it.
  2. I’m not being a “weight weenie” about this bike.
  3. Steel does provide a more comfortable ride.
  4. I can’t break it easily if at all.
  5. It’s cheaper (but not much).
  6. The component geometry already matches several components I already own.
  7. I got hooked on the classic style of steel and the nostalgia factor kicked in after riding a friends All City Mr. Pink.
  8. Damn near everything else on the bike will be carbon.

Although I have 53/39 rings I will be setting this up compact 50/34 and breaking into experiences with huge gear ratios compared to my life on mountain bikes.  I’ve made it into the top 10 on several road segments riding my 1×10 cross bike with 38 and 40×11-38 gearing.  This Soma will be 50/34-11/25 and slightly heavier because of the frame weight and being a 2×10.  I can’t wait to get this thing built and on the road so I also went ahead and ordered a new Pearl Izumi fleece bib and gloves because it’s getting cold out there now.

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Ballot Test

On today’s ballot there was a seat for one NC Court of Appeals judge.  I didn’t know anything about the 19 candidates.   I voted for Valerie Johnson Zachary since her name was last on the ballot alphabetically.

How many others will do the same?  If she wins, is it as a result of her name placement on the ballot?

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I am unaffiliated. I voted.

Unaffiliated, independent voters are the most important. Impartial and prepared to look at issues from multiple perspectives we search for those willing to negotiate and if necessary compromise. We embrace candidates who are willing to work towards solutions that benefit society, not just themselves.

Campaign attacks on the opposition candidate or their political affiliations mean little to us compared to where each candidate stands on issues. Facts matter. Those candidates willing to ignore or down play a matters of fact in the name of partisanship have no place trying to appeal to the independent voter. Worse, don’t tell lies. It doesn’t matter if you can somehow stretch it to the truth through causality or indirect relation, it’s still a lie on it’s face.

Unaffiliated voters decide elections. Partisanship produces bad, unworthy leaders who do not represent people but special interests. That is what Americans are sick of, being second to corporations and donors buying laws and policy. The unaffiliated voter is the greatest threat to the status quot in politics because politicians do not know which way to dial their propaganda machines to influence us.

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