Ballard BMX Jam 3/22/09

Good times in Ballard last week.

Russell Wadlin, Standard Bikes

I saw this over at Krtschmidt.com
So good.

Chuck v. Bear

Resurrection II: The second coming

I've been a part of planning races in Seattle for a year now. It's been a lot of fun. This race is the second annual Resurrection Race. The first race I was a part of in Seattle was the Resurrection. There were something like 10 planners. Over the year, Greg and I have sort of adopted the race planning, with the help from others along the way. For our one year anniversary, it's also something of a reunion. The folks that helped out with last years race, at least those that still live in Seattle, have come back into the fold, and we are planning the Resurrection II. There are a couple new faces this year as well. Christauf, who is an amazing illustrator, and has been doing the art/design end, and helping out since he moved out from NYC a few months back. Karl has also been a big help with his creativity and organizational skills. So this is going to be a great race. I think that I will likely be riding along the route, documenting riders during the race, which I am looking forward to.
If you race bikes, or just like to ride bikes and have fun, you should come out to this event. Always a good time. See you there.

more info can be found at: www.bikebloc.com
April 11th
Register at 2pm, Race at 3pm
$5 to race
Meet at Cal Anderson Park

Ride to art April 9th

Black Thursday rides are fun rides. A weekly group ride that sticks together and puts in 15-20 miles. This ride is going to be a lot of fun. Meet at Gasworks Park at 6pm on Thursday, April 9th, and ride with a pack of people to the Twilight Artists Collective in West Seattle. Karl at Partybots has an installation going up there that is going to be off the hook. Let's ride!

21st annual old bike swap

Made it down to Kent to check out the swap today. Next year I won't get there late. And next year I will have some cash to spend. A very impressive collection of bikes, many having been forgotten in sheds and barns for years.
Quite a few bmx parts were there, and though there may have been some there earlier, I didn't see much track-based stuff. I love looking through old parts and frames. The lines that the designs have are sometimes sleek, sometimes chunky- and the technologies of yesterday seem so far away and antiquated.
All in all I felt at home wandering around the Kent Armory, digging through boxes of old parts, surrounded by people like me that for some reason or another love bikes. Some might even call it an obsession. I'm ok with that.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

my new build

Working on a new bike for this summer:

We only want winners around here...

Go big or go home?

I apologize in advance for the ridiculous music that seems to accompany most downhill mountain bike video, this one being no exception. I realize that high energy is the feeling that they are trying to get across, but when they accompany bicycles and this Korn sounding B.S., I get mad. My solution, play your own music. I'm fond of the 8-bit hip hop mp3 I posted here. Do what you like, just watch these folks doing things with their bikes that were unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago.

It's Wednesday, here's something to get you through the day

2009 World Track Championships

Day one is over, and it sounds like all is well in Poland, an exciting week of track racing lies ahead. Check it out over at trackcyclingworld.com

My submission to the Seattle Bike Rack group

Job creation, and theft reduction. Win win! Those Germans...

Greg Lemond likes tacos.

Mmmmm. Tacos.

Mister Awesome?

I watched the King of Kong last night, and though I thought the movie was pretty good, I just couldn't get over this dude. Wow. His dating advice in the first 30 seconds is classic.

Would you?

Nice legs.

We're on two wheels baby

I have a nasty habit of listening to a song just because it's about a bike. I can't say I'm a fan of Be Your Own Pet, but they have a song, and video that you may like. Here you go.

More about racism than bikes...

This is an old video. July 2008. Daytona Beach, Florida. I can break it down like this: Old white guy sees black woman (who he assumed was male) riding bike on sidewalk. Accelerates his car, runs her over, and crashes into the side of his house. No remorse. Violence spurred from racism, not anti-cycling; both are inappropriate, and indicative of a person full of rage and ignorance. I'm not sure if he has been convicted, but he was charged with a hate crime. Hopefully his ass will be convicted. It's always so shocking that people like this are still out in the world, living in their little bubbles.

This is about as nerd as I can get.

Jay-Z — Dirt Off Your Shoulders

T.I — What You Know

Chamillionaire — Ridin’

Ludacris — What’s Ya Fantasy

Bonecrusher — Neva Scared

Twista & Kanye — Overnight Celebrity

Ludacris — Move Bitch

Lil’ Jon — Get Low

Kanye — Gold Digger

Saw it here

Monkey Licker

The video Windolicker by Aphex Twin is one of my all time favorites, which helps me appreciate this one as well. Footage is taken from the old safety film "One got fat" which is pretty creepy. Enjoy.

I hope this isn't what people think of messengers

Robin Thicke is a d-bag. The only way this could have been worse is if he was riding a track bike. It's like a cross between the worst parts of the movie Quicksilver, mixed with a little Justin Timberlake. No bueno.

Think summer. It's coming.

Who knew Paul Newman was a trickster?

Portland Considering “Idaho Stop” Law

The city of Portland is considering adopting “Idaho Stop” legislature. The laws would allow bicyclists to treat stop lights as stop signs, and stop signs as yield signs. The legislature has worked remarkably well in the state of Idaho since 1982, hence the name. However not everyone in Portland is in favor of such laws. In fact, the whole thing has raised quite a bit of controversy, including some rather biased and decidedly unpleasant media coverage. Still, Portland’s bicycle advocacy groups remain hopeful. For more information, visit www.bikeportland.org.

Best of luck with that Portland. Your love of bikes as transportation make it a joy to be in you.

Read this over at Urban Velo.

Lance Armstrong crashes out of Castilla y León, breaks collarbone

Yikes. After 17 years as a pro, Lance had his first broken collarbone. This puts him out of the running for the Giro d' Italia, if he wants to be ready for the Tour de France. Keep your spokes crossed for him.
Read up on it at Bike Radar

Subrosa Shit the Fuck up Tour

Subrosa helped sponsor a couple races and events that we put on in Seattle, not only the Macaframa movie premiere raffle and Christmas Race, but the Race of Shame as well. I greatly appreciate the love that they've shown us, and am consistently pleased with their riders, as well as edits. I hope they are interested in being involved with a bmx race I'd like to put together this year.
Anyway, here is an edit that I saw over at Projekt-B
It's part of the Shit the Fuck up Tour, their Seattle/Vancouver spot. Enjoy

Subrosa Shit the Fuck Up Tour from Subrosa Brand on Vimeo.

Sidehack backflips

I really like watching sidehack videos. Having never ridden or raced on one, the idea is very intriguing to me. They remind me of chariot races. I think what I enjoy most about it is the fact that riding a bike is very much a one person sport. For those of us that don't play well with others, it's one of the sports that we can do well at. Sidehack racing adds another element; all of a sudden you have another body, another wheel, and more weight attached. You now have to work with another body to maneuver your bike for the win. Everything has to be synchronized. Like back flips.

Rooftop & Jim Bauer sidehack flip attempts from RooftopTV

I saw the above vid over at Krtschmidt.com

And here is a little promo of some downhill goodies:


Looks like a lot of fun.
If you want to see some older footage, you should really check out the movie:
Joe Kid on a Stingray You can borrow it from the Library.
I was impressed with the similarities between bmx of old and fixed gear bikes of new. The very short amount of time where so much took place in design, materials, and riding/skill ability. The trick scene of fixed gear riding has been growing at a rapid rate, and new trick based bikes have been born to filling the void left by track bikes being broken, ridden too hard on the street. Whereas much of the bmx development in the early days was taken from motorcycle and car technology, trick-focused fixed gear bikes have not only bmx, but mountain biking, track, and road biking history to pull from. Whether you frown on fixed gear tricks or not, the innovation that has been taking place is impressive. To simply question why bikes are built a certain way, and try different things, is what helps things improve and grow. And that is all I have to say about that.

Off road penny farthing action

What?

Roller Racing

Roller Racing isn't new. But it's something that has been regaining popularity, and a few folks (myself included) are bringing it back in a big way. The Emerald Sprints Posse aren't featured in the article in issue 12 of Urban Velo, but you get the idea; and you should come out to our next event April 14th, at 88 Keys in Seattle. We've got a tight system, and it's improving all the time. We're based on the Opensprints system, which Evan (article author) helped put together.

You can read the article here.

Where baby bicycles come from

Riding with my friends

I can't wait for summer.

Louisville, KY, knows what's up

Chad Gerlach- An Intervention

A friend of mine came to town a while back and showed me her favorite episodes of "Intervention." I think that there are two types of people that watch Intervention. Those that are deeply saddened and affected by the stories of the individuals featured, and those that are intrigued by making a drinking game out of the show, similar to "Three Sheets." Unfortunately, I would generally fall into the latter category, but also having a soft spot for cyclists (famous or not,) I decided to watch as Chad's life of smoking crack, drinking, and living on the street unfolded before me.
After the three or so cut up episodes were viewed on Youtube, Chad went into rehab, and I hoped for the best for him; thinking that it would really take some love from his former team mates and sponsors to get him on a team again, and that if he didn't get on a team again, the future looked bleak for ol' Chad.
Apparently there are some folks out there that believe people have shitty streaks, make some bad decisions, and deserve another chance. So I bring you this tasty bit of news that will make you warm and fuzzy inside like a little puppy dog. Amore E Vita, with the help of Chad's old team mate Roberto Gaggioli have him on the team, after 6 years down his rocky road of addiction. I saw the article and interview on Bike Radar, and you can too....
HERE

Somebody still has my copy of...

Bike Car. I lent it out a while back, and it never got returned... If you happen to have it, please return it, I'd like to lend it out again.

Motorbike trials riding

So there is a motor on this thing, but it's still two wheels, and more importantly, this fella has mad skills:

Girl on a Bike.

Murray Street Machine- moves you faster!

Emerald Sprints!

The Emerald Sprint Posse has been working hard to bring indoor roller racing to Seattle and the Northwest. This is a little edit that Greg put together of our beta testing that took place at Trainwreck Headquarters. Hope you enjoy, and we'll see you on the stage.



Our next event will be taking place April 14th at 88 Keys in Pioneer Square, Seattle. Hope you can make it.

Bicycle Repair Man