alfred jarry's bike

Look carefully at Duchamp's Bride stripped bare by her batchelors . The work represents uperinteractions among unseen, abstract forces; it is also a machine of suffering. In the top part is what is known as 'the glider'; this is not a glider; it is a bicycle.Duchamp is here referencing Alfred Jarry's Clement Luxe machine purchased in 1896 (we know of course of Duchamp's interest in cycle wheels). Jarry's biographer (Brotchie) by way of some cod algebra assesses Jarry's gear ratio to be 36/9. This ratio will just work. BMX fanatics say it would be like leg pressing 1500 pounds maybe even breaking the chain. Andre Raffray painted the shadow of Duchamp's bicycle wheel onto a wall. He is commenting on Jarry's dream of a fusion between humanity and bicycle mechanics-the shadow reiterates Duchamp's thoughts on such a union-he invites the viewer to spin the wheel: to spin on an upside down unicycle-a more interesting comment than Ballard's 'assassination of Kennedy as a downhill motor race'; look at the detail in Jarry's 'crucifixion as an uphill bicycle race'; instead of crucifixion nails there are 'jiffies' or tyre levers; Jesus even rides lying flat to combat air resistance. How bland by comparison is Ballard's race.
Lance Armstrong should take a leaf out of Jarry's book; before or during a ride he might consume 2 litres of white wine plus a few absinthes followed by coffee and brandy; he called alcohol superfood-the source of all power. Using this as a template Lance can redescribe his endeavours as 'had some great superfood', 'had much better EPO in training this winter', 'check out this synthetic testosterone'.
Lance is the supermale. Jarry would have been. impressed at the range of superfood that Armstrong consumed-far more efficacious than alcohol; 10.000 mile race against a train-no problem