Stupor Bowl XII - January 30-31 - Minneapolis MN - Details here.
It's not for the faint hearted.
Photo by deplaqer. More here.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Stupor Bowl XII
Stupor Bowl XII - January 30-31 - Minneapolis MN - Details here.
It's not for the faint hearted.
Photo by deplaqer. More here.
Seagull Bags
Seagull Bags are great. I've had mine for years now, and it's still in great nick. The shoulder strap and the embroidery are top notch. But not only are the bags great, but the people involved are cool too. I met Dan, the main guy, a few years ago at the Race to the Ends of the Earth alleycat in Chicago, and then we rode together when he came back into town for the Stuffing Santa's Sack race. He's a cool guy who doesn't just support races through his company, he will actually travel to different alleycats and race in them. Anyway, Seagull have some nice new designs out, see them here.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Burnaby Velodrome Roof Collapse
The inflatable roof of Burnaby velodrome in Vancouver has collapsed! Apparently the collapse was due to the heavy weight of snow on the roof and a power failure that shut down the air pumps that keep the roof inflated. Damage to the track is supposed to be minimal, but it will be a while before they know for sure.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Yikes. I hope there isn't any damage to the track surface. The before photos are from the Burnaby homepage, and the after photos are by Stuart Lynne. Thanks to Ed White on chifg for the heads-up. For more details and updates about the roof, check out the Burnaby Velodrome Club and FixedVancouver.
[edit] Burnaby Velodrome has reopened already! Well done to everyone involved in the cleanup operation.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Yikes. I hope there isn't any damage to the track surface. The before photos are from the Burnaby homepage, and the after photos are by Stuart Lynne. Thanks to Ed White on chifg for the heads-up. For more details and updates about the roof, check out the Burnaby Velodrome Club and FixedVancouver.
[edit] Burnaby Velodrome has reopened already! Well done to everyone involved in the cleanup operation.
Tour Da Chicago Schedule
Tour Da Chicago schedule announced!
Jan 11 2009 8:00A Prologue
Jan 18 2009 8:00A Sunday Funday Pass
Jan 25 2009 8:00A The Phantom
Feb 8 2009 8:00A Skillet Scrambler
Feb 15 2009 8:00A Sandbagger’s Bane
Mar 1 2009 8:00A Stairmaster
More details here.
Memphis New Years Race
Happy New Gears alleycat - Memphis, TN - January 1st. Details here.
And if anyone else as a New Year's alleycat on, send me the details.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Caracas Velodrome - Final Part
The veloquest is over. Tomorrow I leave Caracas, and I never managed to ride the velodrome here. In the other two posts I wrote about the Velodromo Teo Capriles, here and here, I described finding the velodrome in Caracas and then trying to get information on riding it. Sadly, it just never came together. A combination of the velodrome being on the other side of the city, me not having a track bike here, and a slightly confusing and hectic schedule at the velodrome itself prevented me from getting out there.
The last time I posted about it, I had just learned that the velodrome held daily practice sessions, and I was eager to head over there and check them out, and maybe borrow a bike and actually ride. But, the trip was not exactly a success. When I arrived, I realized that the daily practice session was more like an introductory session for kids, on road bikes. Also, the infield was hosting multiple games of volleyball and football at the same time. It was chaos. Every five seconds a ball would shoot out of the infield and careen around the track, often knocking down riders and causing minor crashes. Thankfully, the kids weren’t going very fast, but I saw a one-legged cyclist, in Venezuelan national kit and clearly not part of the kids’ session, get knocked arse-over-face when a volleyball got lodged between his wheels, sending him sprawling.
Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. I had expected a dedicated session of track training, but instead it was a chaotic and kind of dangerous “introductory” session for kids, a trial by volleyball fire, if you will. If any of them stick with track racing after that, they’ll be fearless. Anyway, it just wasn’t meant to be. All the track racing in Venezuela this year, and there was a good bit of it, happened in other cities, like Valencia and San Cristobal. I don’t know why nothing happened in Caracas, but I think I was just unlucky.
Now I’m leaving. It feels strange. I’ve lived in Caracas for a year, but it doesn’t seem like it, and I've enjoyed living here a lot more than I thought I would. I missed racing, but everything else about the experience has been great. Venezuela is a beautiful country. The people are lovely, the food is amazing, and Caracas is exciting. I’ll miss it a lot. I’m getting ready to head to Houston for Christmas with Amy’s family, then to Chicago for a few days, and then I’m moving to Fiji to begin my dissertation research. There’s no velodrome there, but there are some road races, so hopefully I’ll get to compete a bit.
Hipster Nascar will keep going, but the posts may be a little infrequent until I get settled. Until then, check out the links listed on the right (check out the interview I did about track bikes and blogging with Ira of Being Totally Sweet in Chicago here) and go ride yr bike.
The last time I posted about it, I had just learned that the velodrome held daily practice sessions, and I was eager to head over there and check them out, and maybe borrow a bike and actually ride. But, the trip was not exactly a success. When I arrived, I realized that the daily practice session was more like an introductory session for kids, on road bikes. Also, the infield was hosting multiple games of volleyball and football at the same time. It was chaos. Every five seconds a ball would shoot out of the infield and careen around the track, often knocking down riders and causing minor crashes. Thankfully, the kids weren’t going very fast, but I saw a one-legged cyclist, in Venezuelan national kit and clearly not part of the kids’ session, get knocked arse-over-face when a volleyball got lodged between his wheels, sending him sprawling.
Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. I had expected a dedicated session of track training, but instead it was a chaotic and kind of dangerous “introductory” session for kids, a trial by volleyball fire, if you will. If any of them stick with track racing after that, they’ll be fearless. Anyway, it just wasn’t meant to be. All the track racing in Venezuela this year, and there was a good bit of it, happened in other cities, like Valencia and San Cristobal. I don’t know why nothing happened in Caracas, but I think I was just unlucky.
Now I’m leaving. It feels strange. I’ve lived in Caracas for a year, but it doesn’t seem like it, and I've enjoyed living here a lot more than I thought I would. I missed racing, but everything else about the experience has been great. Venezuela is a beautiful country. The people are lovely, the food is amazing, and Caracas is exciting. I’ll miss it a lot. I’m getting ready to head to Houston for Christmas with Amy’s family, then to Chicago for a few days, and then I’m moving to Fiji to begin my dissertation research. There’s no velodrome there, but there are some road races, so hopefully I’ll get to compete a bit.
Hipster Nascar will keep going, but the posts may be a little infrequent until I get settled. Until then, check out the links listed on the right (check out the interview I did about track bikes and blogging with Ira of Being Totally Sweet in Chicago here) and go ride yr bike.
Keirin Calendar 2009
The Japanese Keirin Calendar 2009 is out now. I'm not sure where you can get it from, but thanks to Tomity for bringing it to our attention.
That's Kiyofumi Nagai, Beijing olympic games Keirin bronze medalist on the cover.
I think it's the headband that makes this guy look like such a badass.
That's Kiyofumi Nagai, Beijing olympic games Keirin bronze medalist on the cover.
I think it's the headband that makes this guy look like such a badass.IRO Sprints Finale
This report on the finale of IROSprints in Chicago, is by the man himself, Evan Farrar.
"Well, last night was the third and final night of IROSprints in Chicago at Cobra Lounge. We got off to an eager start around 9:45 and raced 4 up with one advancing in order to rip through the tournament and get on with the real business of the night: setting a record time to immortalize two people and distribute our top prizes.
In the first round's first race Ben Van Couvering of Team Pegasus SMASHED his old record. Coming into the race he had 15.698 seconds and he left it with 15.461 seconds.
The women's first round races were slightly less eventful, Hannah, Laura and Amanda took their races but no one managed to Amanda's record from the second night: 18.371.
Deuce, a former Chicagoan, was in town from San Francisco repping the Godspeed Courier Race Team. During his race however, he and his opponents cavorted and playfully decided to race one-legged. The joke was truly on him however, when he won the one-footed race and had to advance to the next round! Brandon Scheiner (also of Team Pegasus), Ben and Jeff Perkins all met Deuce in the second round and when the race was over both Ben and Brandon broke yet another record, however Brandon won it with 15.178 and Ben VC had a time of 15.188, only one HUNDREDTH of a second behind. Josh Hughes won his race again, and Josh and Brandon both elected to take a breather before their finals.
We raced the women's championship next, and Amanda won the tournament and set a new record that would stand for the rest of the night. While Brandon and Josh continued to rest up we recruited people who wanted to try to set a record. Ben (the man who held the record for most of the series up until about 5 minutes earlier) immediately stormed up to the stage. He gave an AMAZING effort, and got within less than one tenth of a second of Brandon.
When Brandon and Josh got up there, they BOTH smashed Brandon's previously held record. They really spun it and it was quite an exciting race where only the computer's 36,000 times a second accuracy could actually tell if Brandon, Josh, or Brandon's ghost time was in the lead. Brandon won with 14.979. Hughej had 15.081. Commendations to Josh, that's just a tenth of a second behind Brandon, and nearly a full tenth of a second ahead of the previous record set by Brandon. For his consolation prize, he got all of the usual swag from Planet Bike, Swobo and Rapha, plus a very nice bag from PAC.
Brandon and Amanda, congrats on winning a frame from IRO. Here they are posing with the super special frog trophy:
Again, thanks to Evan for the report, and for being the main force behind IROSprints. If you're interested in putting on roller races, check out the OpenSprints page here. Oh, and St. Louis get ready, your own roller race series is coming soon.
"Well, last night was the third and final night of IROSprints in Chicago at Cobra Lounge. We got off to an eager start around 9:45 and raced 4 up with one advancing in order to rip through the tournament and get on with the real business of the night: setting a record time to immortalize two people and distribute our top prizes.
In the first round's first race Ben Van Couvering of Team Pegasus SMASHED his old record. Coming into the race he had 15.698 seconds and he left it with 15.461 seconds.
The women's first round races were slightly less eventful, Hannah, Laura and Amanda took their races but no one managed to Amanda's record from the second night: 18.371.
Deuce, a former Chicagoan, was in town from San Francisco repping the Godspeed Courier Race Team. During his race however, he and his opponents cavorted and playfully decided to race one-legged. The joke was truly on him however, when he won the one-footed race and had to advance to the next round! Brandon Scheiner (also of Team Pegasus), Ben and Jeff Perkins all met Deuce in the second round and when the race was over both Ben and Brandon broke yet another record, however Brandon won it with 15.178 and Ben VC had a time of 15.188, only one HUNDREDTH of a second behind. Josh Hughes won his race again, and Josh and Brandon both elected to take a breather before their finals.
We raced the women's championship next, and Amanda won the tournament and set a new record that would stand for the rest of the night. While Brandon and Josh continued to rest up we recruited people who wanted to try to set a record. Ben (the man who held the record for most of the series up until about 5 minutes earlier) immediately stormed up to the stage. He gave an AMAZING effort, and got within less than one tenth of a second of Brandon.
When Brandon and Josh got up there, they BOTH smashed Brandon's previously held record. They really spun it and it was quite an exciting race where only the computer's 36,000 times a second accuracy could actually tell if Brandon, Josh, or Brandon's ghost time was in the lead. Brandon won with 14.979. Hughej had 15.081. Commendations to Josh, that's just a tenth of a second behind Brandon, and nearly a full tenth of a second ahead of the previous record set by Brandon. For his consolation prize, he got all of the usual swag from Planet Bike, Swobo and Rapha, plus a very nice bag from PAC.
Brandon and Amanda, congrats on winning a frame from IRO. Here they are posing with the super special frog trophy:
Again, thanks to Evan for the report, and for being the main force behind IROSprints. If you're interested in putting on roller races, check out the OpenSprints page here. Oh, and St. Louis get ready, your own roller race series is coming soon.
Monday, December 22, 2008
IRO SPRINTS CHICAGO - FINAL RACE
Can anyone beat BenVC's time? Can Hannah reclaim the fastest women's time? Can Team Pegasus sweep the prizes? How much gelt will be thrown into the crowd? Just how fast will the speed metal actually be? All these questions, and more, will be answered tonight, in Chicago, at the final night of IROSprint roller racing at the Cobra Lounge. Be there, or be a sad, lonely, inappropriate number of cats owning shut in.
And remember, if you're interested in putting on your own roller races, check out the OpenSprints system.
NAHBS 2009
The preliminary list of exhibitors at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show is ridiculous. I mean, really, it's ridiculous. With so many talented builders attending, you know there are going to be some amazing bikes on display.
If you haven't already, I suggest you head over to the NAHBS page to get the details and plan your trip to Indianapolis. You know Major Taylor Velodrome is there also, right?
The Boards
I just love this picture. Saw it first on UrbanHunter, the original is by Travis Jutson. Check out more of his photos here.
New Stuff at NoBrakes
Looking for a last, last, last minute Christmas gift or someone? Get 'em a NoBrakes gift voucher or a NoBrakes Chuey Brand cycling cap! Or get them both, moneybags. You can afford it.
More details here.
More details here.
Brakeless NYC 1960
"Pair of cyclists weaving through traffic on a crowded New York City street along 5th Ave. New York, NY, US. 1960. Photo by Leonard Mccombe. Life Magazine." This has been up on Straightchain for a while, and MilanoFixed and Tracko already covered it, but it's such a great photo that I had to put it up. I love it.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Macaframa LA Premiere
Looks like lots of fun was had. Can't wait for the vid. Get the music cleared, people!
New Logo?
I dunno... But, I did sell Rollins an Early Man cd once, so I'm pretty sure he'd be okay with it.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Holiday Hustle
I saw this flyer (looks great, by the way) over on the MASH page, where I was not surprised to learn that MASH have supported 39 races this year. Talk about supporting the community, these guys are great, and their film still kicks ass.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
IROSprint Madisons Photos
Looks like the 2v2 races went well! Remember, there's only one night of racing left, this coming Monday, the 22nd of December, so get down to the Cobra Lounge in Chicago for some speed-metal soundtracked roller racing. Thanks to Luke Seemann for the photos. More here.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Race of Champions Photo
Okay, so the race between Chris Hoy and Lewis Hamilton was called off, but Guy Swarbrick, ace cycling photographer, still managed to get this pic of Hoy warming up on the motor-racing track.
Brakes? What a n00b. Thanks to Guy for the excellent photo. Check out more of his amazing cycling photos here.
Brakes? What a n00b. Thanks to Guy for the excellent photo. Check out more of his amazing cycling photos here.
Outlier Experimental Drop
Outlier produce some really, really nice cycling clothing, and now they're giving people the chance to check out some of their future products months before they're released. They're calling it their experimental drop. "The experimental drop is a series of extremely limited production runs of the garments we expect to be producing full on a few months down the line.
These are garments that are deep into our development process, we are pretty damn sure they're amazing, but we still want to test a bit more before we can give them that Outlier "future classic" seal of approval." So, for the next four days Outlier will be releasing one garment a day, each of which was produced in a limited run of just 10 garments:
TODAY: their OG Pant in a new Workwear fabric.
WEDNESDAY: the Tech Hoodie in their Winterweight fabric.
THURSDAY: an experimental Dry Cotton version of their OG Pant.
FRIDAY: the Workwear version of their Tech Hoodie.
All of these extremely limited edition garments are available to buy on the Outlier page here.
These are garments that are deep into our development process, we are pretty damn sure they're amazing, but we still want to test a bit more before we can give them that Outlier "future classic" seal of approval." So, for the next four days Outlier will be releasing one garment a day, each of which was produced in a limited run of just 10 garments:TODAY: their OG Pant in a new Workwear fabric.
WEDNESDAY: the Tech Hoodie in their Winterweight fabric.
THURSDAY: an experimental Dry Cotton version of their OG Pant.
FRIDAY: the Workwear version of their Tech Hoodie.
All of these extremely limited edition garments are available to buy on the Outlier page here.
Seattle Events In December
Thanks to Ryan from Emerald City Bike Bloc for the heads-up about these events. If you're in Seattle this week go to the Maca premiere, get amped, and then go race. Perfect.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Chris Hoy Wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Chris Hoy, the preeminent track sprinter in the world right now, won the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award last night. He was up against double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, but the Scot, who won three gold medals in Beijing, the first Briton to win three golds in one games since 1908, won the public vote convincingly, and became the first cyclist to win the award since the great Tom Simpson in 1965. It was a great night for British track cycling generally, as the Olympic track squad won Team of the Year, and their coach Dave Brailsford won Coach of the Year. It just shows how the incredible performance of the team during the Olympics really captured the public imagination in Britain, and augurs well for the sport there. More details here.
Fixed Mag 2 Online
It's a great magazine, you should pick up a paper copy if you can, but in the meantime check out the newest issue online here.
Friday, December 12, 2008
IROSprint Madisons
As you will have noticed, there was a lot of strong racing last IROSprints night. This Monday promises even more mayhem with 2v2 roller madisons! Here's how the races will work: your team and another team will be called up to the stage. All four will be fitted onto a bicycle. Yes, four bikes. The total distance is 800 meters. One member from each team will be picked to start, and the countdown will begin. As the the first team mate nears the 400 meter mark a green light on the other team mate's handlebars will light up, and you should start spinning up. The second rider takes over and it's a race to the finish.
IROSprints, this Monday, December 15th, at the Cobra Lounge (235 N Ashland Ave) in Chicago. This will be EPIC. As always, any profits made will go to the Bicycle Messenger Emergency Fund.
IROSprints, this Monday, December 15th, at the Cobra Lounge (235 N Ashland Ave) in Chicago. This will be EPIC. As always, any profits made will go to the Bicycle Messenger Emergency Fund.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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