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Bird's EyeView
Thursday, October 10, 1996
Mountain Bikes: the newest cycling Breakthrough
Story by Spencer Duncan Photos by Eric B. Howell
Somewhere in the dark corner of bike shops, gathering dust, sits what was once the most popular bike in America — the
10-speed. No longer the bicycle that Americans love most, it has been pushed aside by the new No. 1 seller — the mountain bike.
The mountain bike is the undisputed biking champion, said Mike Combes, owner of Terraplane Bicycles and Goods, 916 Massachusetts St.
"Technology killed the 10-speed," Combest said. "It's still alive, but it is different. The mountain bike is the bike of today."
Combest has support from a plethora of sources.
Cruise the Internet, and there is a cornucopia of opportunities to join the mountain bike craze. There are books about the effect of mountain biking on the mind and soul. Organizations exist solely to make the mountain biking experience more pleasurable, and there is even a mountain biking Hall of Fame and Museum in Crested Butte, Colo.
Can this growing phenomenon be stopped?
Probably not. According to the Olympic Committee, 70 percent of all bikes sold today are mountain bikes, and that number is increasing
Most bicycle shops in Lawrence are stacked with a variety of 10-speed and mountain bikes.
That figure makes sense to Geoff Davis, an employee at Sunflower Bike Shop, 806 Maconhouette St.
pounds. Today, the average mountain bike weighs between 23 and 29 pounds.
In 1979, mass production of the mountain bike began. And the rest is history.
At that time, the mountain bike weighed more than 50
Thanks to college campuses and America's sense of adventure, the mountain bike has claimed the crown as bicycle's king of the hill in America.
"There is nothing more thrilling than cruising around on a mountain bike," Stevens said. "It is a great release, and at times transcendental."
The modern mountain bike sensation traces to the early 1970s in San Francisco. At Mount Tamalpais, members of the Velo Club Tamalpais banded together and rode the mountains on their makeshift mountain bikes.
"With a mountain bike, people are more free to go where they want to," Davis said. "You can on gravel roads and into the country farther than ever before. You can do more on a mountain bike."
Mountain biking was a summer Olympic event this year for the first time.
France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and the United States were among the competitors.
But what is it, specifically, that mountain bikers love?
"It's a way to get outside
It's a way to get outside and get into nature," Myers said. "Some people look at it like they are competing against Mother Nature. They are battling the elements. It is a lot of fun." The mountain isn't bound by any other
Nature. They are baiting the elements. It is a lot
The mountain bike isn't bound by age,either.
"A lot of older people were the first generation to make biking a fun thing to do," Combesd said. "I see people of all ages in here buying mountain bikes. It's something that everyone enjoys doing."
On course, mountain bikes aren't everyone's favorite.
Mark Johnson owns Precision Tandems, 1209 E. 23rd St,
where riders can buy tandem bicycles.
He said mountain bikes are fine for some, but not everybody.
are great bikes and a good alternative," Johnson said.
"With a tandem, people can ride and spend time together. There are a lot of advantages that other bikes don't have."
Something could come along and knock the mountain bike off of its rack, Davis said, but he doesn't see that happening any time soon.
"There's not anything that can hurt the mountain bike," Davis said. "I just got back from a trade show that had a lot of different things and a lot of different styles of bikes, but nothing that will unseat the mountain bike."
Mountain Biking Terms
from The Dictionary of Mountain Bike Slang
cloon: slamming into the ground
crotte-testing: sudden impact between a male rider's genitals and
something very hard and pointy, such as the seat
endo: flying over the handlebars
gonzo: treacherous, extreme
gutter bunny: a bicycling commuter
mojo: charm or icon worn by a biker
or attached to the bike
tea party: when a group of riders stops to talk and nobody rides on
wild pigs: poorly adjusted brake pads that squeal
wonky: not functioning properly
The shock outweighs the message, meaning at Marilyn Manson's latest Lawrence concert
By Ashlee Roll Kansan staff writer
A stained glass window reached to the top of the ceiling and a gold pipe organ loomed onstage. Images of impaled angels were on both sides of the performers.
But this was no church service, nor was it a house of horrors.
The band played at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St., on Tuesday night, the eve of the release of its new CD. Antichrist Superstar.
It was Marilyn Manson's concert.
Lead singer Marilyn Manson, dressed in white hose and a cod piece, was bathed in green light. His long black hair hung in stringy clumps down his tattooed torso, and at one point in the show he simulated anal sex with the microphone.
And this is where it starts getting spooky.
The music can only be described as hardcore with an undeniable, theatrical edge. Most of the songs
REVIEW
But the music seems to be the last thing that anyone is interested in at a Marilyn Manson show. The show was mostly a gathering place for more than 700 teenagers clad in black pantwhose.
blended together in one gigantic thrash orgy. The band's talent does not go beyond a screaming vocalist and mediocre musicians.
I, dressed in a plain white T-shirt, felt completely out of place surrounded by people in T-shirts that proclaimed, "We hate love, we love hate."
However, my awe quickly turned to disbelief when Marilyn Manson climbed on top of a large black podium bearing a swastika-like symbol. Black streamers with the same emblem waved behind him, and fake snow began to blow.
In the audience, raised fists and middle fingers poped up everywhere, aimed at the singer.
The five-piece hardcore band from Florida was
founded in 1898 under the name Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. The band later shortened its name to Marilyn Manson. The name and the lead "singer," Marilyn Manson, comes from what the band considers the two biggest icons of the '60s: Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson.
Declaring "Let's break something," the lead singer launched into *Cake and Sodomy*: "Red neck burn out mid west mind, who said date rape isn't kind?"
Other band members have combined names, such as Daisy Berkowitz, named after Daisy Duke (Dukes of Hazard) and David Berkowitz (serial murderer).
The entire show was an experiment in theatrical shock. It just mattered if you bought into it. The show shocked me completely, so Marilyn Manson achieved its goal as far as I was concerned.
Although I was extremely offended by the themes of rape, hate and anti-semitism, I somehow could not look away from the spectacle onstage. It was like passing a bad car wreck where you can't help but stare at the carnage.
Marilyn Manson
Contributed art