Maybe its just the families' bicycle. That's the ticket.

In an unprecedented security move, John Kerry has had all his Secret Service Agents mounted with rear view mirrors so they don't knock him down, again.

One of my also ran caption contest entries. I guess the mirror thing on the Secret Service Agents didn't work out so well after all. :)

Looks just like an ordinary bike to me, two wheels, handlebars, etc. His seat's too high, I believe. No light and I don't think it has any reflectors. No bell, either, though his shrill scream ought to do the job.

I must respectfully disagree on the seat height, Chuck. It's only too high if the rider can no longer reach the pedals. Judging from the near-full extension of his right leg, I'd say the height is just about right.

Unless, of course, most voters would prefer to never extend the leg beyond 45°. Then he would naturally want to change his position.

"Hi folks, I'm John Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts. I served in 'Nam. They won't let me wear a military tank helmet because of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth non-endorsement, so this bike helmet will have to do until I find an Indian ceremonial headdress.* By the way this is my families' bicycle, and I don't fall down, unless pushed by a {bleep} Secret Service Agent.

*Coolidge reference.

(whaddya mean this isn't a caption contest?)

Just because Rolling Stone airbrushed a picture to show Al Gore's wood back in the 2000 cycle (no pun intended) doesn't mean that every frickin' Dem candidate has to be shown with a big woody.

Except Hillary.

Depends on how much you ride. Somehow, I doubt that Kerry is a hardcore racer (a sufficient reason to spend 7k on a bike). He's got a cyclocomputer, looks like, so he cares about metrics (or wants to give the appearance of caring about metrics). Riding on the hoods instead of the drops (doesn't mean anything)...got the shorts, no jersey, though. So that ride that day wasn't for ultimate speed.

My little $600 road bike does the trick for me, but I do know some people who've spent a few thousand (not 7), and they're just average folk in their 20s and 30s who ride on average 100 miles a week or more.

With regard to seat height - looks fine. Slight bend in the knee with extension.

I finally have something complimentary to say about John Kerry. Nice quads.

hln

hln

Say, that goofy yellow helmet reminded me of the last Massachusetts candidate who wore a goofy helmet, which got me wondering Steve, who was riding in the other hatch in that Tank with Dukakis?

The answer that will shock the nation is up over at llamabutchers.

$7k for a work of bicycle art. Bargain!

Wonder how much it'll be worth once (hopefully)the next US President's finished with it.

The yellow bar tape loses him a few kudos points, but I can let that one go, if he kicks big Dubya out the door.

That's looks like an all steel bike (frame and fork) and even if that is a custom frame (serotta makes stock frames too now) I doubt it's more that a $4000 bike. That said, I know grad students who've spent that much on bicycles. You don't have to be a competition rider, just a bike freak.

I'm not sure why the price is worthy of comment... If he spent ten times that much on a car, no one would even notice.

Pants, some of the Serotta frames start at nearly $4,000 for FRAME ONLY. Add top-end Campagnolo components, a set of $1,000 wheels (though I can't see much special about the ones in the photo), and the other 10 or 12 expensive bits, and $7,000 is possible to spend. Not easy, but possible. I've owned some expensive bikes, but stopped at about half what Kerry spent (or less). Funny thing, though, for all that "specialness", it looks like the bike is too small for him. If he was a competitive criterion rider, such a cramped size might be ok, but for comfort and fitness, I'd think Serotta could've fitted him better. I'm just judging from one photo, though, my perspective could be off.