Posted on 03/01/2019 8:53:56 AM PST by real saxophonist
THE FORMER CONGRESSMAN AND LIKELY 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER RODE A SURLY STEAMROLLER WITH ONE BRAKE AND PINK GRIPS.
BY RILEY MISSEL
Feb 28, 2019
Beto O’Rourke was spotted riding a singlespeed bike home from a political meeting in Texas on Wednesday.
O’Rourke is a known cyclist and runner.
The former congressman and Senate candidate is expected to launch a primary campaign for the 2020 presidential election.
Former Democratic congressman, U.S. Senate candidate, and likely 2020 presidential contender Beto O’Rourke made a grand exit from a political meeting in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday: He rode his bike home.
Amid a flurry of press attention, O’Rourke mounted his Surly Steamroller, a classic black singlespeed, and cruised off down the street, waving cordially to a pair of potential constituents. CNN reporter Eric Bradner caught the moment on video:
Just caught up with @BetoORourke at a Moms Demand Action event in El Paso. He said an announcement is coming “soon” but wouldn’t say more.
“I want to make the announcement to everyone at the same time. I want to do it the right way,” he told me and @leylasantiago.
This was undoubtedly a purposeful exit, so we can speculate that O’Rourke wants to reinforce his image as a cyclist. Last July, he held a “biking town hall” in Dallas, in which more than 100 people rode with the then-congressman around White Rock Lake Trail to talk about community issues. This grew from a popular event he previously held in his hometown district of El Paso, called “Biking with Beto Town Hall.”
It appears he’s a longtime bike commuter as well, having been photographed in 2013 returning from a congressional baseball practice via bicycle.
O’Rourke publicly lives an active lifestyle. He regularly held running events during his campaign for U.S. Senate last year, traveling through Texas and going for runs with community members. He lost that race to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, and a week later wrote a reflective post on Medium about running through a Washington, D.C., snowstorm to manage his feelings.
There was some speculation that O’Rourke would run for Texas’s other Senate seat this year, but he decided against it and, according to the Associated Press, “has made up his mind about a 2020 presidential run and will announce his intentions ‘soon.’”
“I want to make the announcement to everyone at the same time,” O’Rourke told CNN, teasing a primary run before hopping on his bike. “I want to do it the right way.”
His setup on Wednesday was simple: A no-frills black frame made from 4130 Chromoly steel, no front brake (just a rear brake), and touch of flair with pink grips.
O’Rourke lost his father, El Paso County commissioner and judge Pat O’Rourke, in 2001 when a driver struck the older man as he rode a recumbent bicycle.
RILEY MISSEL
Riley is an assistant editor who researches, writes, and edits feature stories.
Ahem. Goofy you say?
A Kerry wannabe.
Still suspect he’s a Kennedy through his mama from her step father’s time around that administration.
How’s that tax fraud conviction on the family furniture store? Yeah, yeah, IRS problems is a requirement to become a demonrat.
Also looks like he’s riding in street clothes. Long pants and no chain guard? Surprised he didn’t wreck out.
To get the hipster vote, he needs to grow a handlebar mustache and ride a penny-farthing bike.
Or Dukakis in a tank.
SINGLE SPEED? So much for diversity of gearing....
How could anyone think riding a pink girls’ bike was a good idea?
Are those guys behind him carrying his gear?
That ones in the dictionary next to the word goofy. Also, throwing out the 1st pitch....that was a blackeye for all of us.
Riding a pink bike in birkenstocks.......what a mook.
Girls’ bike.
Well, he’s riding as opposed to cycling. With the saddle that low, his knees fly out to the side. I doubt his cuff comes close to the chain. I knew a guy in college that thought he looked perticularly fetching in bicycle shorts. He didn’t own a bike, but he’d walk around in them . Sometimes he’d borrow a bike from a dumpy gay friend, and cruise around. He was a foot taller than his friend, so he looked like a dope on his bike.
What a DORK!
It’s a national tragedy that Rats judge candidates by their Star Factor rather whether they know what the fuck they’re doing.
Single speeds are a big deal with hipsters, especially if it’s a “fixie” (no freewheel).
Mock John Kerry all you want, he has exquisite taste in bicycles. He owns a fleet of Serottas. Ben Serotta is one of the planet’s finest frame builders.
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