Recently my inbox has been ablaze with the news that architect, fixed-gear freestyler, street fashion enthusiast, and architect Prolly is managing a new cycling team. In fact, some of these emails were even from people other than Prolly. The team is called D.A.R.T., which stands for something, and you can read all about them on his blog. They look like this:
This is certainly a bold (if schlubbily-attired) venture, and D.A.R.T. have their work cut out for them in the rugged, sordid, mercenary world of doing stuff together while wearing similar clothes. There are a lot of crews out there who have been doing it longer and who, quite frankly, have been throwing down harder, and I have a feeling they're not going to take it easy on the new kids on the block. Some of these OGs include:The Goonies
The Goonies have been the crew to be reckoned with ever since they thwarted the Fratellis and saved their town from evil developers. They're disaffected yet endearing, and tough yet lovable. What's more, they were dressing like the D.A.R.T. guys before most of the D.A.R.T.s were even born. And while D.A.R.T. may have Tony Fast, the guy who's got a sense of humor about his weight, the Goonies have Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen. Careful, Tony--it'll take more than a few fakies to defeat the "Truffle Shuffle."
The Bad News Bears
When it comes to rag-tag crews of sporting misfits, nobody--but nobody--steps to the BNBs. When that little blond kid starts spewing racist invective even the toughest fixed-gear freestyler is bound to stand down. Also, there's that guy who played Kelly Leak who went on to play the pervert in the movie "Little Children." He's just creepy. And D.A.R.T.'s team manager Prolly is no match for coach Walter Matthau, whose irascibility and hard-drinking ways are bound to make Prolly's handlebar moustache do bar spins.
Real Genius
D.A.R.T. may have the brawn to stand up to those guys, but do they have the brains to stand up to the Real Genius crew? This group of prodigies at fictitious university Pacific Tech has been emboldened by the irreverent antics of their leader Val Kilmer, the coolest darn genius you'll ever meet. Granted, D.A.R.T. do have an older guy with glasses who looks kinda smart, but the RGs have been there. We all saw how they dispatched with Kent with the talking filling trick.
Whatever the outcome, this is surely a watershed moment in grass-roots fixed-gear cycling, and I for one will be on the edge of my saddle.
