Weekly Roundup: For Whom The Titanium Bicycle Bell Tolls Edition

The last time I bought a grownup-style road bike was in... whoa... way back in 2002, when I picked up a closeout Schwinn Super Sport SL. It served me faithfully for five years of frequent use, including several "centuries" and long-distance tours. Two years ago I refreshed it a bit and put a couple hundred more miles under the tires. There's nothing wrong with the bike whatsoever.

Still, I've enjoyed my Lynskey Pro 29 so much that I thought I'd try switching to a flat-bar titanium road bike just for fun. So This is my Urbano, complete with King Cage Shot Glass bell in titanium to match the frame and bars. True to Lynskey form, it arrived two months late, right before the end of the Ohio outdoor touring season. Oh well. I'll be able to look forward to some long rides in Spring. I might even try my luck at the TOSRV 205-miler come April.

Not that I've been riding any bike whatsoever lately. Between PCOTY testing and a couple of full-length features for another magazine I've been cranking flat out in the non-cycling sense...

It was an all-green week at R&T with coverage of the Lamborghini Huracan Performante and the factory where Lenora the Evora was built.

Brother Bark told you about the collapse of salesperson compensation at Kia dealers and the likely aftereffects.

For TTAC, I made the case for Tesla, answered a reader question about cheap speed, and reviewed the refreshed 2018 Mazda CX-9.

In the week to come I'll be giving you an exclusive look at the stick-shift-equipped 2018 Porsche 911 GT3, so stay tuned and, as, always, thanks for reading!