Bikier than Moi

Dilettante cyclists like me appreciate the real devotees who create and maintain the culture from which we borrow only what we need.

Velo Orange started up long after I left Naptown.

Ha. Naptown. The sobriquet was more appropriate in the 1970s when the capital of Maryland slumbered beside Chesapeake Bay, not even dreaming of the binge of metastatic development now obliterating it.

I haven't been to Velo Orange, but a couple of people I know have mentioned it to me. It looks like a nice place to buy a certain subcultural selection of cycle accoutrements.

As a practical cyclist I put together what I need from what's around. I've learned the hard way not to fall too hard in love with anything manufactured, which could be mutated or discontinued at the whim or fate of its maker. Sometimes you can plan ahead and stockpile, but often the thing you need turns out to be the one you couldn't get two of. So you improvise.

There's a lot of cool bike stuff out there. One lifetime is too short.