This is a very good article. I am more than willing to deprecate New Yorker articles as dreary "preciousity" -- twee preciousness about trivialities (not all; they often do good in-depth reporting; same opinion about the NYT) -- but Wiener captured the values and the person. As to the person, I can list 25 or 100 things about which I disagree with Grant, but this essay and others before it demonstrate that he stands out because he believes in something because of what that something is and not for any extrinsic reason, andis willing to suffer loss to make and sell that sometthing. Back circa 1998 he said, "We are product-driven, not market-driven," and this phrase defines Rivendell. They believe certain things are good and they make those things without diluting them in order to sell more of them, and be damned to the rest of you.
This expresses a big part of the Rivendell idea: “So many basic things are being teched out of existence,” Petersen said. He saw this as a function of business incentives: electronics break or need replacement; an upgrade is always around the corner. Petersen’s objections are practical but also philosophical. As bikes become higher-tech, riders lose skills and agency. I liked this one, too: "There was something romantic about the Rivendells. They made the other bikes on the road look mean." Bike Snob devoted today's post largely to the New Yorker article. "It’s a proper story, too, and not one of those little thumbnail sketches where they’re subtly mocking the person ..." -- making fun of Streetsblog. On Mon, Sep 16, 2024 at 12:48 PM Andrew Scherer <[email protected]> wrote: > I enjoyed these quotes: > > > "It was by far the longest, heaviest bicycle I had ever been on, and it > moved with a surprising grace." > > "...we crossed into the hills and started up a paved, curving road, toward > the trail. The ground was littered with sardines..." > > > Andy > > On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 2:30:34 PM UTC-4 Ryan wrote: > >> Also a nice mention of BBDD, and the Platypi which she was too modest to >> mention...and I agree with Leah; it was very well-written. >> >> >> >> On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 12:49:36 PM UTC-5 Richard Rose wrote: >> >>> Great read. Sadly I currently have a bad cold & it’s a lovely day. So I >>> am just sitting here - enjoying the veritable bird paradise that is our >>> property, wishing I was riding my bike. Maybe tomorrow.:) >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Sep 16, 2024, at 1:19 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> The writer made such gorgeous language out of it. Favorite quotes: >>> >>> >>> “But I felt, instead, a very adult sense of longing—as if I had just >>> glimpsed, at a deeply inconvenient time, a new and appealing way to live.” >>> >>> “Rivendell’s employees object to descriptions of the company’s following >>> as cultlike. “The other stuff is the cult,” Keating told me.” >>> >>> “There was something romantic about the Rivendells. They made the other >>> bikes on the road look mean.” >>> >>> “The strength and fearlessness of the others filled me with an almost >>> indescribable envy. What was it like to leave for a long ride at dusk—or >>> cycle off into the woods with a sleeping bag, a patch kit, and some >>> groceries—and be reasonably assured you’d have a great night? The world >>> seemed divided between two types of people: those with a command of the >>> physical world, and everyone else. The former had confidence, skill, and >>> know-how; the rest of us had YouTube tutorials on removing anti-theft >>> skewers.” >>> ____________________________________________ >>> This was a gorgeous piece of writing that rightly celebrates a brilliant >>> man. I’m so happy for him. I’m sure he hates the attention. >>> Leah >>> >>> >>> On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 12:24:46 PM UTC-4 Caroline Golum wrote: >>> >>>> Can confirm the Riv to birding pipeline is real >>>> >>>> On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:32:24 AM UTC-4 [email protected] >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> dan!g you beat me to posting this! its a good read and as a " mid 30s >>>>> tattooed skater who rides in cut off dickies and vans" I was a little >>>>> triggered to learn that I'm very "bird watching adjacent". >>>>> >>>>> [image: IMG_4584.jpg] >>>>> >>>>> [image: IMG_5005.jpg] >>>>> >>>>> Ben "little brother" R >>>>> >>>>> On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 7:29:21 AM UTC-7 Roberta wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> It’s about Grant, Rivendell, philosophies, …. >>>>>> >>>>>> You can read one New Yorker article for free. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/09/23/the-art-of-taking-it-slow >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e71918e8-c68e-4d18-9e97-6b481f52d51en%40googlegroups.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e71918e8-c68e-4d18-9e97-6b481f52d51en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a0647fdb-63ff-4ec7-9b16-e3787c57d2can%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a0647fdb-63ff-4ec7-9b16-e3787c57d2can%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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