July 10, 2011

Tour de Flower

     Being that this is supposed to be a bike blog and we are in the middle of the Tour de France, I think it's only fitting that I write about my gardenia plant that so pleasantly graces our front door with its spring-like aroma.
Jak enjoying my aroma-therapeutic gardenia plant.
Photo Credit: PedalandPetal (shot with an old Sony Cybershot) 
     Now before you hang up on me and think to yourself, this guy must be some kind of nursery-dwelling hippy that has no intention of talking about bikes, please bare with me for a moment because I actually do have a cycling related point. But first you'll need to click on this link to a video of the world's best rider, Alberto Contador, who tosses his bike to the ground after a crash
     Did you watch it? I don't really know what my point is, however, the last time I crashed my bike, my initial reaction was not to throw my bike on the ground and inflict further damage upon it. This is because I like bicycles, especially my own, and I have the ability to think critically and foreshadow a few hours ahead of what my needs may be. The last time I crashed I was by myself in the middle of Soquel Demonstration Forest on one of my favorite local trails. My initial reaction was to ask myself, who are you? After answering successfully I immediately apologized to my bike and helped it off of the ground and checked it for injuries. It happened to be fine, but I knew if it wasn't, I would have had a long walk out of the forest. 
     Contador obviously has a different thought process than I do, and I think it went something like this. 
     Being Alberto Contador (English translation): "You piece of garbage Specialized, there is nothing special about you. I am Spain's gift to cycling, that is why I ride an American bike, don't you know that the Spanish discovered America. Fuck that hurt, there is Lycra ground into my Spanish skin. I am the most interesting man in the world. You are just my Niña, as far as I am concerned, you have sunk, therefore deckhand, I demand my Pinta."
     Yeah, he's a strange bird, however, if he were an animal he would be an anteater (we went to the zoo today — they're weird). But to tie this back to my gardenia plant that smells like you wish you did after a ride. If Contador looked around, took a few deep breaths, hopefully getting a whiff of a French gardenia — his head would've been in a much happier place. And perhaps he would have just french kissed his mechanic for immediately handing him a carbon fiber copy of the bike he just crashed.

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