Handlebar Tape Disease: Ghana Area

So for the past few months, I've been wracking my brain about what hood/handlebar tape combination to run on Jacques Lobster. Because HUDZ carries pretty much the visible color spectrum and if you combine all the color options from Deda, Bike Ribbon, Cinelli, Sram, Eleven81, Singleworks, Zipp and Lizard Skins, any retina-searing set-up is possible. Since I've been on a dub/reggae listening kick for a while, reinforced with a healthy dose of Michal Veal's "Dub: Soundscapes...", I had a eureka moment: I shall outfit the Lobster in Rasta colors! Huzzah! So after selecting a yellow set of Hudz (BKPT11832) to fit my Campy shifters and some red Lizard Skins bartape (HDTP1603) it was time to step back and behold the glory that is "The Original Rockers Rosewood Sound System". Sadly, the Rasta wasn't working. It wasn't giving off the Black Ark vibe I was going for. It felt more like a Ronald McDonald meets Oscar The Grouch mash-up. Shell Oil meets Jolly Green Giant? Sales flunkie Jose predicted it would look like a hot dog, and I was on the verge of grudgingly accepting his prognostication, when I glanced up at the TV and saw the joyous hordes of Ghanaian futbol fans waving yellow, green and red flags after they dismantled the US. Eureka, for the second time! An out! An expedient reason to save face: Handlebar scheme was now "in honor of the Ghanaian world cup victory" instead of the Rasta bike/Original Rockers Rosewood Sound System. And yes, it is a most hideous color scheme indeed...


By the way, this was the maiden voyage in my new Toms Shoes kit, courtesy of Team Toms Shoes team director Adam "My Hawley Graphics Department Coworker" Abramowicz. Go buy some Toms espadrilles since it's for charity and Adam is a kind, old soul with a button nose and two eyes made of coal. That is all.

(Post script: It rained buckets on me yet the white bibs stayed opaque, keeping my nether regions obscured from the lecherous eyes of Shandon freakazoids)