Trigger (heh) warning; I’m going to break the number one rule of cycling with friends in this post, but for good reason, and for the last time… I’m going to drop it. You have been trigger (heh) warned.

I was all set to strike against Specialized’s hitching itself to the Global Climate Strike, a movement advocating the destruction of the planet. Calling for an end to fossil fuel use by 2025 would require the planet be blanketed with solar panels and wind turbines to supply enough power to keep everything from reverting back to the stone age – the earth, blanketed by “clean” energy implements would mean an end to most life on earth – let’s just suffice it to say the movement wasn’t thought through very well.).

I’d taken the wheels off my Specialized Venge and set it in the corner. I was all set to cover all the Specialized logos on my other bikes with tape, and I was going to make a stink about their idiocy on this blog, regularly. How dare Specialized hitch themselves to an ignorant political movement and f*** up my enjoyment of such a fine bicycle… and mess with the number one rule of riding with others; no politics on bike rides.

However, I had an epiphany on my buddy’s birthday ride; I was invariably breaking the rule myself. I already had, and more than once. Even though I was frustrated, I was dragging my own righteous indignation into bike rides. While I wouldn’t try to equate guilt, because Specialized’s infraction is so egregious it boggles the mind as to what they were thinking, I have to look at my part in this sordid little tale because my part is the only part I can really do anything about.

I quietly put my Venge back together Sunday afternoon.

I don’t know how I’ll take action in the matter, I’ve got a few ideas floating right now, but in the end, I’ve gotta obey the golden rule; I can’t drag politics into bike rides. As I mentioned in a previous post, we need some things to be devoid of politics because the issues, especially this one, are so badly misused and abused by special interests and politicians it’s almost impossible to have an intelligent conversation with a true believer. We need refuge so we can remember what’s most important about being human – that we work best together, that we need each other, it’s important to rely on each other, and better, why we need to care for each other.

I can’t very well do that by pointing out reality to Kool-Aid drinkers on a bike ride, either. They’re normally too lost in their own hate-filled ignorance to see an issue clearly, anyway. Worse, everyone else, who would rather not be dragged into that mess, gets sucked in. Who would want to spend their weekend free time like that? Not me, so I’ve gotta stow that $#!+. Put simply, I’ve gotta make my peace with it and leave it be. If someone brings up the Specialized kerfuffle, all I have to do is explain my bike was bought long before they advocated for an end to life on Earth, and other than pointing out that simple reality, I’m not getting any deeper into politics on a bike ride.

That said, I don’t find myself particularly wanting a new “woke” bike, either.  I prefer a manufacturer that just sticks to making bikes.

Finally, if you want to know how a Climate Crisis is created, watch this:

After listening to Greta Thunberg address the UN, my worst fears have been realized with that poor, brainwashed kid.  She’s a true nutter and probably doesn’t even know that she’s being played.