Keirin Tilt-shift

Awesome tilt-shift keirin photo from kr!$+@1k? spotted over at velo runner:


Check out the rest of the set for some more great keirin photos.

I especially dig the Softride Panasonic pursuit bike:

Euro Asia Goodness...

EAI had some great eye candy on display:

Keirin Culture

Everyone should already know about the Keirin Culture website, but did you know that Stratton has an actual shop now? He just opened the Keirin Culture bike shop in Roanoke, VA, and it's packed with the same beautiful NJS frames that he's known for, and a whole lot more besides, like frames from Ciocc, Casati, Alan and IRO, and the whole range of Kazane frames and wheels. Check out these pics of the shop:







Something is definitely happening in Roanoke. First Keirin Culture opens, then Kazane-sponsored Premier Sports Partners UCI pro road team decided to hold their spring training camp there, and soon a super-secret Yamaguchi-trained frame builder will be setting up his new shop there (more details on this soon). I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Roanoke till about 6 months ago, but it sounds like an interesting spot.

Check out Keirin Cuture at:

902 13th St SW, Suite 102
Roanoke, VA 24016
Phone 540.597.6750.
Hours: Mon-Thurs 2-6, plus by appointment.

Bike Porn

Yes, some people do it right, like this guy, but I'm starting to think that a lot of people don't know what "bike porn" is, with bloggers posting photos of conversions, or the current obsession with ugly, oversized BMX-style forks. Here's some proper bike porn: Michelle Dykstra's Watanabe.

Michelle raced this bike at Track Nationals, and you can read about her experiences on her blog NoMoreCheetos.

Speaking of Trackstar...

Nice frames.

Refreshing Wave of Keirin!

It has been almost 40 years since women were barred from competing on the Japanese keirin circuit, but when ChrisP sent me this link I thought they might be starting again.

A Japanese keirin race with women track riders. This looks promising.

That's definitely a women's keirin... but the Love9 thing is throwing me off a bit... as are the relatively skimpy uniforms...

I was wrong. Apparently it's not the return of professional women's keirin to Japan, but is instead Love9, a group of cheerleaders/popstars that occasionally ride a demo race before the start of a men's keirin. I had super-genius friend of mine DavidP translate some of the page, and this is what it says: "the dream story started in Jan '07 when a refreshing wave of keirin was sweeping across Japan and we wanted to make the dreamy Japanese-born sport more widely accepted. 6 girls got together and cheered floridly for racers."

So there you have it. This is not the return of badass professional women track riders to the kerin circuit in Japan. Pity. However, we have learned that track racing is officially "dreamy" and florid cheering is all the rage. Also: refreshing wave of keirin.... Mmmm!

Love9 posing with Theo Bos.

Love9 posing with a Godzilla-legged winning keirin racer, and some fat bloke.

Check out the official Love9 page here.

NJS On The Track

Another great night for Team Pegasus at Northbook velodrome, and this time the standout performance came courtesy of Michelle Dykstra. She absolutely killed it, winning the 10 lap scratch with a sprint that made the crowd go "woah..." and coming second in the points race. Did I mention it was her first night racing at Northbrook? Hell. Yes. Also, Henry did great, grabbing 3rd in the Madison with partner from xXx.

Sweet Watanabe, but can it do bar spins? Michelle and her bike in the infield, getting ready to race. Photo by Jessi!

Oh yeah, and Phil Liggett was there... You know, no big deal or anything, he was there and he called the race Michelle won. What a great night!

Phil Liggett at Northbrook. He's in town to do a benefit for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation tonight, Friday the 23rd of May. Photo by j.dot!