Val and Brean sporting their winning bags, by
Seagull.
Val and Brean won the
Sadie Hawkins Race.
Again. They're 3 for 3! Here's Brean's race report:
"Val and I won the first two Sadie Hawkins Races, so we teamed up again to try to continue the streak. The wait at the beginning was cold, and we did our planning quickly. There was a bit of a false start because we couldn't hear Kisha, and we wound up jumping the gun a bit. But we waited for people to catch up to us before starting the train.
The first stop was 1960 N Milwaukee, but I was out of practice (Val is the stoker, and I am the navigator) and we wound up looking on the wrong side of the street, even going around the McDonalds parking lot. Uggh. Then we found the CP just as Coyote and Christina got there. Up MKE, made a wrong turn (wasn't even sure we were going in the right direction), and started to realize that we were beacons in the night with our blinking tail lights to those following --next year, no rear lights. We made it to all the pickup CP's at about the same time as Christina and Coyote.
Val was being much more aggressive than me this year, which was a surprise, but maybe it's because I am getting older. I even stayed in my small chainring the entire race (why don't more people ride road bikes for these things?). And, of course, since it's a team race, skitching is out. But we worked hard and started increasing the gap on the drop CP's. There is a bit of an inherent penalty for being the first to a CP in an alleycat since the people don't quite have the system down or their pens ready or whatever, but it's just something you have to deal with. Here is how they went:
Blow up balloon and pop it by sitting on it --I couldn't tie the balloon shut with my gloves.
Chew bubble gum and hold a bubble for 5 seconds --gum was frozen and not the best for bubbles. It took forever, and Val was not amused. Eventually, I just stuck my tongue in it to make a cavity and made a tiny bubble by hand. Wound up chewing the gum for a few more miles.
Put candy on a spoon and walk it into partner's mouth --Easy.
Write four places for a bike date --Easy, we've done that.
Then, it was mostly a straight shot down Ogden. I really pushed it as fast as I could on this stretch, with a nasty headwind. Val is a seriously fast woman. And we won! Coyote and Christina came in about 7 or 8 minutes later, mostly due to a navigational error, and that is the closest margin yet. Either we are getting slower, or the competition is getting faster.
Good course. Thanks to Kisha and Ruby and all the volunteers. See you all at
Cranksgiving."
Thanks to Brean for the race report!
This gorgeous Team PloughmanCraven Pinnacle track bike, belonging to team rider James McCallum, was ganked out of the back of his car at the Scottish Track Championships at Meadowbank Velodrome in July. No word on whether he got it back, but if he didn't, someone is riding around the streets of Edinburgh on a very distinctive track bike...
I'd honestly never heard of this brand before, but apparently Massi are a Spanish component and frame maker who have been around since 1934. This is their brand new Pro Track carbon monocoque frame. It's nice, though I personally dislike such small rear triangles, and will cost US$2,335, which isn't bad for a pro level carbon track frame. More details here.
Let's hope they don't result in a world champion FAIL... Seen at the Cycle Mode 2008 Show, photo by cisvul.
Check these new OG Winterweight Dry Gray pants from Outlier. Pretty spiffy, no? I really like the tailored look, plus they're made with a serious technical fabric that will apparently keep water out while also wicking sweat. Most rain, snow or slush, I'm reliably informed, will just bead up and roll away. It's a softshell so eventually it will saturate in intense conditions but when it does get wet, it'll dry in 10-20 minutes when safe from the elements. The fabric includes cordura grade nylon for durability. The weave is such that the tough nylon is concentrated on the outside, while the inside is a fuzzy heat retaining fleece for warmth and comfort. They sound like the cycling pants The Sartorialist would invent, if he was an inventor and not some kind of quasi-creepy street-fashion stalker bloke... More details (on the pants, not on The Sartorialist) here.
Check out Fyxomatosis for some amazing photos of the recent Track World Cup in Melbourne. Good job, Andy!
Limited edition Selle San Marco Concor produced for the Bicycle Film Festival Milan. As seen on MilanoFixed.
Rapha versus Garmin-Chipotle derny racing. Although those are not exactly dernys... Photo by Jack Campbell.
Chris Hoy on a bike. Lewis Hamilton in a car. Racing each other in Wembley Stadium. What? Details here.
