Happy Halloween!

Messing around, skidding past a checkpoint and avoiding zombie Ben at last year's awesome Headless Horseman Hunt alleycat, organized by the ladies of Chicks'n'Drinks. Have fun tonight, people!

Stuck in Chicago

Chicago Fixed stickers from smeeze. Get yours here.

HALLOWEEN ALLEYCAT MEGA POST!!!

Chicago, IL - Oct 31.

Indianaolis, IN - Oct 31.

Atlanta, GA - Oct 31.

Baltimore, MD - Oct 31.

Lansing, MI - Nov 1.

Berlin, Germany - Oct 31.

Minneapolis, MN - Oct 31.

Brooklyn, NY - Oct 25th.

Dublin, Ireland - Oct 31.

New York, NY - Oct 25.

Birmingham, England - Oct 31 (sorry for the mistake!)

St. Petersburg, FL - Oct 29.

San Francisco, CA - Oct 31.

Norfolk, VA - Oct 31.

Ann Arbor, MI - Oct 30.

Oklahoma City, OK - Oct 26.

Oshkosh, WI - Nov 1.(BMX jam. Not a race.)

Nashville, TN - Nov 1.

Vancouver, Canada - Oct 31.

Taipei, Taiwan - Oct 31.

Albany, NY - Oct 31.

Merckx's Hour Record

Exactly 36 years ago, on the 25th of October, 1972, Eddy Merckx set a world hour record of 49.431km in a velodrome in Mexico City. That remains an impressive distance. Chapeau!

Team Pegasus Wants You

Team Pegasus is recruiting. We're looking for Chicago based men and women who want to join a fun, relaxed but committed team of cyclists, who compete in track, road, cyclocross and mtb, and who cultivate a positive, supportive, fun and encouraging environment for new racers to learn and improve in.

Andrew on the track.

Katy in the snow. Photo by Kat.

Chris on the road.

Michelle on the track. Photo by Gavin.

Over the past two years, Team Pegasus riders have competed in Track Nationals, have won State Championships on the road and in cyclocross, have won Rider of the Year at Northbrook velodrome, the Wisconsin State Cyclocross Series, and have racked up numerous criterium, track, cross and mtb race wins. But, more importantly than all that, we've had fun! This is honestly the most fun group of people that I've ever spent time with. If you're interested you should come along to the recruitment meeting at 8pm on Tuesday, November 11th, in Weegee's (3650 W. Armitage). Check out www.teampegasuscycling.com for more info.

Fear and Loathing on the PhD Trail.

Tomorrow morning, I leave Caracas and return to Chicago to sit a French exam and defend my dissertation research proposal in front of a committee of professors. These are the last two hoops I have to jump though before I get PhD candidate status, and frankly, I'm bricking it. Practicing French while living in Venezuela has been interesting, as has writing a research proposal without access to any books. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and I'll be back in a week.

Tom Simpson Gear

Yesterday, Tracko reported on the brilliant Tom Simpson feature that Pro Cycling magazine has in its current issue. Coincidently, I was about to post about all this retro Team Peugeot gear that Prendas and Santini recently released. Check it out.

Tom Simpson's Team Peugeot jersey.

Team Peugeot cycling caps. I like the BP version best, and I think it's the one Simpson was wearing at Herne Hill velodrome on the day those photos were taken.

Tom Simpson's World Champion jersey.

Just in case you don't know who Tom Simpson was, he was an English cyclist in the 1960s, the winner of Classics like Milan-San Remo, Paris-Nice and Ronde van Vlaanderen, and he was World Champion in 1965, the first, and, if memory serves, the last Englishman to win the World Championship on the road. He tragically collapsed and died while riding the Ventoux in the 1967 Tour de France.

Best. Shirt. Ever.

Not bike related. Don't care. Get 'em here.

New TrackosaurusRex Pic

I guess Kyle got sick of looking at Sean's ugly mug, because there's a new image on the splash page of Tracko. That's a nice collection of gear, especially the San Marcos, but what's with all the oranges?

Fyxomatosis Chainrings

144BCD Fyxomatosis chainring.

Mirrored finish 144BCD Fyxomatois chainring.

You've seen these already, on Tracko et al., but I wanted to post them anyway because they're so great. 144BCD track chainrings from the daddy of them all, Fyxomatosis. They come with a 12 month kill me if you can warranty. If you can wear the chainring out in 12 months, they'll replace it, free, but I'm guessing these things can take a lot more than 12 months of riding.

Macaframa in Milwaukee this Friday.

Fair play to the lads from COG for setting this up!

L'Eroica

L'Eroica is a race for vintage bikes (and riders, from the looks of it) that takes place on the chalky white gravel roads of the Chianti area of Tuscany, Italy. Riders come from all over the world to tackle the hills on their vintage bikes, most in full period costume. Check out these great photos of the 2008 edition.

Period correct, down to the shoes. Photo by Kay.

Tackling the hills in matching vintage gear. Photo by Kay.

Even the feed stations are vintage! Photo by Kay.

This guy looks like he's working hard. Sweet Colnago and Salvarani jersey, though. Photo by Kay.

Dude, you're blowing it with the whole cell-phone thing! Photo by Kay.

This guy is great: straight out of the early decades of competitive cycling, complete with single-speed bike (possibly fixed) spare tyres wrapped around his shoulders (which also helped protect against broken collarbones), les bidons and aviator-style goggles. Plus, a moustache. Killer. Photo by Kay.

I'm sorry, are you from the past? Photo by Kay.

Look at these guys. They have absolutely no idea how hip they are. Effortless. There are people in SF, Chicago and NY who would kill to look this good. I choose to believe they dress like this on a daily basis. Photo by Kay.

So, there you have it, L'Eroica, a race I am now absolutely committed to doing at least once in my life. Of course, I'll have to put together a decent vintage road bike first, which, given my general lack of funds will probably take years, so I'll probably be as old as these dudes when I manage it, but still, it's going to happen. It looks like so much fun. Thanks to Kay for the awesome photos. Check out more of his great cycling photos here, and to get more details about L'Eroica go here.

Exclusive Rapha Tweed Softshell Pics

I posted a few days ago about some shots I saw on TrackosaurusRex of a bloke in what looked like the rumoured tweed version of the Rapha softshell jacket. Well, I just got these pics from Rapha:




Nice! Apparently, the Tweed Softshell is the highlight of their Autumn/Winter 08 season, and there are only going to be 100 of them. The jacket features a pure wool outer layer with a Prince of Wales check, providing a windproof, water resistant jacket, perfect for riding around town and going to the pub. It'll be pricey, mind, around $750, and will only be available from their website.

Housekeeping

I made a few changes to the list of links on the right-hand side of the blog. Links are now split into Friends, Shops and Stuff, and I added a (non-extensive) list of Velodromes. Also, I added some new links, like Fixed Gear Fever, Zlog, Milano Fixed, No Brakes, Orange20, smeeze, Track Shack, and Laek House. Check 'em out.

Ballan's World Champion Wilier - Part 2

I found this great photo of Ballan riding his new bike in the Giro di Lombardia recently. The gold of the fork and tape looks even better than I thought, and it's cool that Wilier finally get to add the world champ rainbow to their bikes. Thanks to Edward from Dot Cycling for letting me use the photo. Check out more of his awesome cycling photos here.