Light stuff breaks...

Equipment choice will always be a factor in biking.... Yummy.

When I see a piece of AL break it always makes me think of the tabs on the old soda cans that were used to open it: if you moved the tab back and forth with your fingers at a certain point it would snap. Apply the same concept to AL bars...Thatis why I laugh when I hear people tell me that Al is stronger than Carbon bars. Carbon has amuch higher fatigue life than AL. Period. It is only when you gauge Carbon that it starts to have compromised intergity...but even then, it is much less an issue than AL.

All that being said, am I riding all carbon parts? No. Too pricey for one, and the AL options that are out there (Shimano cranks after wrecking a few FSA cranks may be the best option) are great.

Bontrager:
Light. Cheap. Strong. Pick two....just not light and cheap.

"The California is the end of the world...

It is...Hollywood, Sillicone valley and the heart of American Consumption..." -read in French accent...if you cant do that, call me and I will do my dead on impression (so I am told by everyone who knows him...)


Normally I never pick up my phone if I dont know the number but I did this morning and it was my dad. I dont often talk to him. I dont often mention him. But I have a dad and he lives in France. He is my father but we have a strange realtionship...I can count on my hands the number of times he has called so it always shakes me up a little...


In other news, there are 15,756 starbucks world wide...

SSWC08....The truth is...

I didn't get in..."FAAACK"

I am a total lame-O.

Empty stomach = Empty Ride

Three cups of coffee, a salad and M&M's make for no energy on the night ride...


Tuesday night is one of the few times where I try to put some training plan into place for cycling. I reserve Tuesday night for sprinting or acceleration work outs. Normally in winter, I jump in the fray of the a pack ride and mix it up for a few laps to work on leg speed and a little acceleration.


Last night, while there was no pack ride to be had I did end up riding with few people including Paulie who I have know since 1995, as I bumped into him on the way to the park.


NOTE: I had swung by the shop and picked up the bike and change and rode with a backpack. It was heavy but not that heavy I thought....


Since I now have a bottom bracket that turns freely with out any effort (prior, unbeknownst to me, as I just chalked it up to lack of fitness I was riding around with what amounted to a BB filled with sand) I decided to set the pace and let those who wanted to follow to sit on. I spun freely and felt good compared to recent rides as my legs were not on fire from pushing a crank that did not move freely without some effort.



When we hit the hill at 110th street I did not accelerate: just tried to maintain cadence and not move around too much in my saddle. Paulie came unglued quick (he normally is a far better rider/racer than I am) and when we hit the top of the hill we kept going. There was no waiting tonight. You were either were on or off...Paulie was off.


We kept moving at a decent pace and at each incline I gave it gas and tried to recover on the DH. Ride was going just fine and little by little more and more people joined our group and by the top of the park there was a small bunch.


This time up the hill I sat on J-man's wheel and he motored. Somebody tried to bump me off his wheel and be second wheel ...but I was not having it: I did not move when he pulled up next to me and tried to nose in in a few times to take the wheel. Sorry Charlie, I hit trees mountain biking with some regularity and they don't throw me off line too much, so your attempt to move me is/was in vain. He probably didnot want to sit on some guy who was rolling on a cross bike with fenders...


As we came through the backside I started to fade. I was working hard but not really that hard. I just did not really have any energy at all...it then dawned on me that it was not a mechanical issue but bio-mechanical. I had not eaten anything other than a salad, 3 coffees and a bag of M&M's....faaaaaaaach.


I held on for a while and realize it was stupid to wreck myself and ended up saying my good byes to those who I knew and put my nose into the wind and dropped off. I felt like DiCaprio in Titanic as he slid to a dark watery grave as I watched the group roll away. Rolled for another 30 minutes and called it a night.


Lesson: Eat 3 square. Or one triangle.

Rock Racing Training Camp Pictures....

A little bit of fire power: Botero, Sevilla and Hamilton


Tyler riding an old bike from last season: DeRosa has not sent them their bikes yet.

Theunise and Rooks were the original toxic twins....

Love the bike...just not the color....

Note: all pictures thanks to the king...bahatiracing.com/

Mario is back....

Mario is back....

Having been a mario fan for some time I have to say it is cool to see him out and training...at 40! Can he do anything other than look cool? Not sure but will be very cool to see if he shows up at the Tour of Cali.

Bike shots...Monday

Bike shots...Monday

Independent Fabrication 1 speed crown jewel with XTR v brakes: I bike from a page of my own book on personal bike style... Road set up with some seriously strong stoppers. It would make for a killer city/training bike...








Brooklyn Machine works track bike at the races: can not help but post this picture because wether or not this guy laid down the law on his fixed or not, I have to give the guy credit for getting out there on a decided disadvantage of a bike.

Sushi instead of ride

Bagged on ride bc it was cold and cross sled is down. I was 2 lazy 2 do re build on skinny tire rig. Worked out at gym like a jock instead making tough guy faces when i lifted. Grrr.
Sushi serves as nourishment. Mmm.

"Oh Sexy Bicycle....Part deux"

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a Calfee bamboo bike and how rare they are...They are...then this morning I cam across one on eBay...Go Pengo (seller of the calfee and the Vanilla I posted yesterday) has great taste in the oddities of the velo. I would love to see a picture book collection of all his bikes.


http://cgi.ebay.com/56cm-Calfee-Design-Bamboo-Hemp-Cyclo-Cross-Demo-Frame_W0QQitemZ270206725598QQihZ017QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are the latest Tomac DH bikes. I am sure it they will be very raced oriented...

"Ohhh sexy bicycle...."

"Ohhh sexy bicycle...."

Vanilla Cycles: It is rare when a bike personifies pure lust. It is the creation of emotion forged from the elment chart. Vanilla Bikes are gorgeous and are more than the tool of the rider. They are art. Part 1940's pin up girl coupled with the elegance of the flapper.

Anyway, there is one on ebay which is a rare. Who is crazy enough to sell the bike I would give my pinky toe for. The seller, Gopengo, does sell the nicest bikes on eBay (literally: not sure if he is a shop or a private collector) and this would not be the first bike he has sold that I thought was the bee's knee's.

http://http://cgi.ebay.com/55cm-Vanilla-Cycles-Custom-Road-Bike-Campagnolo-Carbon_W0QQitemZ270206369655QQihZ017QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Ode to Timmy Jones...Tim Jones is a gawd...

"Hi my name is Timmy will you be my friend.... "

"will you be my friend?"- when you see Tim Jones ask him about all the friends I helped him make by plastering the homeliest picture of him scarfing on some ice scream all over the place. Over 500 copies in all sorts of hard to reach places that got me in big trouble with public safety for climbing up the library wall in order to paste some on the outside of the big giant bay window on the 3rd floor....Ahhh college, so irresponsible of me.

In college there was a bespectacled engineer, who rocked funky side burns before anyone did, dated a NYC punk rock chick with tattoo's (who knew Bucket from the Toasters....), wore velvet pants, started his own bike frame company (Two Circles: see below for one of the first 2 circles to be built) and was one of the first companies to use an EBB for single speeds ,had a brother who looked like a mon che-che (sp?), played cribbage like a girl, drank beer slowly and rode like the business end of a mother fucker.

he rides on the road as well but that don't make him weird....

Timmy J was/is a monster rider. One of the best I have had a privilege to pedal with. He schooled in DH (won the Widowmaker back in the 90's which was one of the fastest DH's on the east coast) and can push a pedal like a bad ass. Timmy recently won Oregon state champs for SS cross....Timmy had a top 5 at the SS World Champs for Cross this last fall...OH MY GAWD...he is so cool.

Seriously, since I have know of the man, the myth and the machine he has been riding his bike like a bad ass. Whether it be on the half pipe (yes, he has a picture of Matt Hoffman under his pillow), on the GT RTS/LTS ( I remember a few nights where Timmy was building back up his bike (after stripping it down to the bare frame) in the kitchen after thrashing it in the mud...and I do mean thrash...so that he could leave early the next morning to go ride) or on that black GT Phsyclone Tim has always been able to throw it down.

Anyway, this is my ode to the little "GT man" living out west in Oregeon.

I wish Timmy ("will you be my friend") Jones the best after a monster season of riding single speeds.

Early season pro=last years bike and notes.

Note the AGR2 pro rolling on last years Time bike instead of the new Kuota. All the logos had been taped over. I think I would rather be on the Time anyway. Time carbon bikes ride so nicely. I wish they made a non integrated fork as I would slap one of those on the Indy fab in a second.

Here is new clothes company: the hipster messenger style has finally moved away from the DIY status that made it cool...but these threads seem cool and props for some one stepping up to make these.
http://www.hypnoticdesigns.com/

29er: The number of 2-9 bike companies grows.
http://vassagocycles.com/

3 dollar part=Lactate Threshhold power work out

I have been logging in some miles recently and I had been thinking that maybe my body was taking some time to re-adjust to the work because my legs were sore to core as if I had been doing monstrously hard climbing. I decided I would try and ride through this pain threshold as I assumed it was just me getting used to really riding again.

Last Sunday, I decided to do some work on my cross bike and realized that my cranks no longer spun freely...in fact they did not spin unless I used a fair amount of force. I had just replaced the bb so I knew it was not the bearing. It turns out that the bearing cover on the cranks disintegrated and was dragging on the bearing. So with a little help I cut out section that was causing the grief and the cranks spun again freeily...YAY!...until I tightened them. So it turns out I have to replace the bearing cover: a 2.50 part. Not a huge deal but made me rethink the ceramic bearing issue again.

It also made me rethink the weekend in which I clocked in 150 miles (Nyack/Piermont back to back) and realize how much harder I had been working. So with the bike being out of commission I decided to use the time off and rest. My work outs have been so much harder with a crank that does not turn that my legs need a little time to re-adjust. Makes sense because I would be so tired after a ride...abnormally tired which I thought had to do with the cold...and when I think about the other night in which I had some hot laps in the park it makes me laugh to think about the amount of work I was doing (big under inflated knobby tires as an added piece to resistance puzzle).

Anyway, it got me think about ceramic bearing...Smoother and stronger. It may have to be an added to the SS build.

Simple Steel and Stealth

Simple Steel and Stealth

I love stealth bikes. IF Crown Jewel. No decals.

Fashion of the day is tomorrows garbage. Rarely do designs stand the test of time. And certainly bike paint jobs can look tired and so very old quick. I like seeing simple bikes as they seem to have the chance to last longer: the short shelf life of style can often lead to people discarding for something new even though it may only be marginally better at best.

I love the fact that only those in the know what a great bike this IF is. Understated. I like understated.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Italian road bike. With the exception of Pegoretti, rarely do Italians make bikes in one color or without any sort of gimmick/marketing/flash paint.

These are this years CAISSE D'EPARGNE'S Pinarello's! Spy shots from the Tour Down Under. Interesting to see they are being spec ed with Pinarello own house brand MOST stem. Although I do love the simple bikes, this ain't half bad either....

Another pro preview of 2008. $7500-8000? Not sure a Cannondale is worth that much...send me a test one and prove me wrong.

Park Night Ride: In search of the pack ride

In search of pack...

I am currently on my 3rd cup of coffee and it is 10 AM. Am I so daft to think I wont have some sort of upset stomach especially when the doctor said lay off the coffee (moderation being the key) unless I wanted to have another series of bouts of some intense stomach (ACID) pains... Stupid. But at least I am caffeinated.

In search of pack...

I met Josue last night for the pack ride. For those not in the NYC bike scene, the pack ride is in essence an impromptu gallop: A group, for the most part is non associated with each other, meets at a certain time and certain place. The pack ranges in size from 10 to almost 100. A few years ago the pack ride in essence became banned as it became too dangerous with too many people riding too fast in a too crowded a park. But in winter it is just right. A fast pace, not too fast though, with a select group of decent riders. I like to try and get a couple of faster laps in once or twice a week. Not for too long and not for too fast either. Still trying to build a base which can only be done riding in a manner I can only describe as slow roasting (think turkey). Can not nuke the sucker, but you can slow roast a turkey.

We hit the park knowing that the meeting time had already passed so we started to make our way around the park in a counter clockwise. This was, if there was indeed a pack ride we would see them. Cautiously we rolled the park and while picking up a few people who were also in search of the pack ride. We were in search of pack....

It was an odd sensation to ride the park loop in the opposite direction.

After riding 2/3 of park with no pack in site we turned around and set off to get a couple of laps in. There was no pack ride last night.

Shortly thereafter, one of the pack regulars (Slim) rolls up on us in confirming no pack ride: "people must have stayed away because of the cold." Cold? It was cold, but not brutal.

After riding with us and chatting he (Slim) tried to stroll away from us which I decided I would match pace. Slim and Josue then jumped on my wheel as we went up horse shit hill. A few times slim tried to come around me which just made me increase my cadence. No shifting up into the big ring, I just spinned faster. At Cat Paw, Slim jumped away and without standing I kept the same gear and pulled him back with out accelerating. At that point, I was annoyed because I really wanted to roll at my own pace and not have somebody goad me into riding faster (which is a hazard in Central Park) so I decided I would do my own personal TT and see who is left standing.

I dragged J and Slim around past the engineers gate...Slim tried to come around twice but as soon as he hit the wind he had to jump back on to J's wheel. Or he would come even and then drop off again. He wanted to throw down with two guys on cross bikes...Road vs. Cross...but so did not have the engine. J on the other hand did not seem to have an issue as he spinned smoothly behind me. As we came to the cut out before the turn past the rink, I picked up the pace and drilled it going down the hill with the logic that some peeps might stress more about the downhill corner and may overcook themselves before the hill. I pedaled hard all the way through the corner.

With a quick glance at the ground, I saw three sets of passing shadows telling me that J and Slim were still on. I started to wind it up as we approached the hill and when we hit I was going hard. I glanced back and Slim was on J's wheel at the bottom of the hill at 1110th street. From that point I tried to remain as smooth as I could. No acceleration,and no unwanted movement on the saddle. Just power. By the second turn the effects of the TT up to the top of the park started to come into play. I started to slow down and just as I did J slipped by and I grabbed his wheel. I turned back and slim was gone. Did not even make it to the turn before he got dropped. I glanced again at the top. Gone.

J pulled me around the park till Tavern on the Green: I had to grit my teeth in two sections as I almost came unglued. But did not. From there we ticked off a few more miles in an easier pace. Slim never caught back on.

We agreed to meet again to search again for the elusive pack.

Creative: commutes suck and Adhesive Tape art

This is more rant than creative: On my way home yesterday I was stuck in the subway for a good 30 minutes increasing a painful commute to one that tests my mortality. I remained pretty relaxed even though I was tired from standing (legs aching from riding hard) and had to deal with a guy standing right next to me who must have been missing some hot date/business meeting and was losing his shit. He was gripping the bar white knuckle style, snarling, and saying things under his breath...kind of like an animal. What can you do when you are stuck on a subway? Nada, but sit tight and wait for the next stop.

Packing tape Art:

This is so rad. A piece all done by packing tape. Reckon always has great bits of new art and other stuff (not sure it is always art...)

Note about a passing:

Ronnie Thomson passed on over the weekend prior to his hometown throwing a festival for him. The festival was slated for the 18th. Ronnie Thomson is the founder of Thomson Bike Parts (great posts and stems). He was only 69.

God Speed Ronnie.

Saturday Recap/Notes with Mapmyride.com

Saturday Recap/Notes with Mapmyride.com
Map My Ride: Notes and other thoughts on Saturdays hard ride.

This is the route for last Saturdays ride. I highly recommend the backside entrance for Nyack Via Clasuland : hard.

Ride up 9W: Rode a fast tempo after we got off the bridge. I felt strong and the legs moved with ease. A pretty fast ride up 9w and not for the faint or weak of heart. Perfect, round pedal strokes pushed with conviction. I am riding the flats pretty good these days.


Cheap on the miles: Mapmyride.com said I only did roughly 52 miles while my computer said 58 (JB's said 55 but I had ridden up and back from a lower point in the city) so somewhere along the lines I am getting cheated. Evidently I am squirrely as a rider and am all over the place....or mapmyride.com is only moving totally in a straight line.


Clausland: This climb starts steep with a right hand turn that immediately dumps you into granny gear. A few years back I had done the climb at full race pace with energy to spare but in the cold ride, with the super under inflated cross tires all I could do was ride a decent tempo while my legs were awash in lactic acid and I was breathing like a cardiac victim. The climb has a couple of false flat sections were one can recover (not really) but then kicks up again. Brutal. Maybe the hardest climb in the area.


Eating on the run: My typical winter nutrition strategy is to ride on an empty stomach (usually only a cup of coffee) and carry a bottle of water which I don't drink from. Sunday I actually did not even bother to brink a bottle and just drank before and at the mid point: bone dry. The ride up and back I snacked on Clifshots and Enervit and while I am sure I am a little stronger than I was in November when I did a string of hard rides up to Nyack and back, I am pretty sure that eating those types of easily digestible energy packets makes a difference. Which is annoying to think I will now be a slave to the sports nutrition companies...Fuel packets...yes it annoys me, but they do work.

Midway: Stopped at the spoon, stripped down to a base layer and let the clothes attempt to dry out. Since we were only stopping for 10-20 minutes at tops it had to be quick: JB likes to keep it rolling. Although I do like to stop and have my coffee at a slower pace it made sense to hustle as I had to get back to the city. I had dressed on the lighter side but had managed to work up a sweat. One craft base layer, one demarchi retro wool jersey (belgian champ), Pearl shorts, Castelli knee warmers, wool socks and a wind vest. As long as I was moving I was warm but if I stopped I would have been in trouble. As the sun started to dip in the afternoon even while moving I was starting to get cold.

Not how I was rolling....thanks Pez.

Sitting on wheels: coming home JB turned on the gas out of Piermont. No acceleration but rather no de-acceleration when we hit the hill. I wanted to drop off at least twice but I did my best and pushed it to stick to his wheel the whole way through. It was a good test. A real good one. From there we got passed by two wanna-be pro types who were pace lining back and forth. I think one of them annoyed JB and so we were off and caught them. From there they ticked up the pace to try and get rid of the two guys on cross bikes (one with fenders...). No matter what they did, they could not rid us. This started to fire me up and was enjoying the ride back home at 20 plus miles an hour. Jack pulled off for second and I thought it was because he was worried I was not enjoying sitting on wheels, so I jumped after them once the gap had quickly grown. Shortly thereafter I turned around and JB was off the back. I stopped and waited and JB caught on and said he had enough and could not chase anymore. Cracked? not sure if I would go that far. Anyway, he had the effort of the day out of Piermont.

Hit the city: Felt tired and headed down the west side of the park to get home. I rode slow. Old people on bikes from the stone age passed me as I turned out squares. I needed food, sleep and a hot shower.

I ended up having two meals: pasta and sushi. Then I passed out before 11 as I knew I would be doing it all over again the next day....

Antigua Notes:

Here are some notes I had on Antigua: some may make sense, while others may not.

I rode everywhere on the island wearing my green IF messenger bag. Sometimes filled with pineapples, but most times filled with sunscreen, water and my camera. By the end of the trip it was completely covered in dry salt and my shoulder bonehad a bruise on it from where the bag had been resting...Camelback next time.

• While I slept in luxury, most of the island is at the poverty level. It was sobering to realize that most homes did not have running water.
  
• The days were filled with riding and relaxing or just plain relaxing...you had your choice.
  
• Domesticated (farm) animals often roamed the roads and yards freely. This included goats, horses and chickens. I almost killed myself trying to avoid a chicken in the middle of the busiest street in English Town harbor.


• Safe European Home: There were some tough neighborhoods I rode through and it made me wish for safer street like Martin Luther King Boulevard here in NYC. Not sure all the locals dig the tourists...I am not sure what they thought of me as I rolled around. When asked what I was doing, I just told them I was checking out the island and the best way to do it was on my bike.
  
  

Kid sis and I up at the heights...

• My sister decided it was a good idea to try and pet a barracuda
  
  

Catching the Barracuda..."Come here little fishy...I want to pet you..."

• Sam and Wendy know how to put on a show: food and wine like no other. Nothing too over the top food wise (pretty simple: fresh and light the way I like it) but the wine was nothing short of unbelievable. While I don't plan on drinking much, maybe a glass at dinner, the wine was so beautiful (drinkable) that I could not help but push my glass forward when the wine was being passed along...desert wine? Sure...
  
  
  

Mieks and cousin Sophie

• Evidently cousin Andy was not meant for the ocean. I did not think it was possible to regurgitate food that had been eaten the month before, but Andy proved it was possible as his head was over the side of the boat so many times I wondered what else he might have in his stomach because it never seemed to end. Somehow I thought all WASPs were born with sea legs so that they could go boating....oh well.



• Wendy and Sam: Great cousins. I like being around them.
  
• The weather was what you expected from paradise: beautiful.


• I wish I had a partner in crime to ride the island with: riding was good but had it been two or more it would have been even better.
• Bike did not break.


• Really did not get sun burned...that bad.

The pineapple lady...we had bought pineapples from her two years earlier and so I went back to find her. I carried on my back for 30+ miles pineapples for my cousin Wendy thinking she did not have any of the special black pineapples...She had a stack of them!

Sam at the Fish Market in St. Johns.

• The water is truly blue, almost clear.
• The friends, family and company that came to visit where "top notch"....great peeps.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Bike Geek: The season is starting with new kits and bikes

Bike Geek

Boonen going ballistic: slight change to the new kit and Tommy B rocking the new Specialized SL2 (a seriously great bike). The new uniforms are a little more white than previous years.




CSC is rocking Craft wear this year. Same bikes but different costume.


Did not ride yesterday. Felt sort of sloth like last night for not...but I was beat tired so it is better to have a low key night, eat early and heal up from the weekend then to go out and try and burn 3 laps in under an hour.

I have come to conclusion that 3 days on 1 day off is the way to go. Trying to balance wanting to get stronger with resting is hard, because as soon as I get one ride in that is good I want to build on it immediately. I tend to over train because I like to ride too much to stay away from the bike. This year I am going to listen to my body a little more and rest and eat when I am supposed to.

Bike Geek: The spectacle of the flow of bikes...

Bike Geek

Salsa Con Crosso, Ti IF Planet Cross, Salsa Las Cruces and a Merlin Agilis.

Bike Geek: 7-8 light Canfield

7-8 inches of travel on a 7 pound frame...which means it can be built into a 30 pound rig...A true all mountain bike. Bikemagic said it may have opened up a new plateau in terms of a true long travel bike that can descend.

3 days, 150 miles, Sushi and whole wheat pasta.

Bamboo bike....first time in real like I have ever seen one which was being ridden a bunch....

3 Days and 150 miles:

Did a solid block of training. And I do mean training, not riding. If I had been riding I would not have ridden back to back days to Nyack in the cold. I would not have ridden Sunday after tearing up and back on Saturday including an incredibly fast steady pace out of Piermont and a brutal climb into Nyack on the backside. Followed by a return into the city at 21 miles an hour. It was a leg killer of a ride...So not riding, but training.

The only thing good about training (because compared to riding it sucks) is that I did it and feel fine today....which means my body is re-adjusting to the work load after having been dormant for so many moons...I have been riding that last couple of years, but this is the first time in at least 5 years where I have been making a conscious effort to get some longer miles in and build base. Right now I can not even rent base I am so out of shape...but these are the first steps.

Break down of ride: 3 laps in the park with LD on Friday, 65 on Saturday with JB (fast), and a slow 67 with KN. Did not think I would make it to the state line on Sunday but stopped in Piermont had coffee and a muffin and then finished up riding to Nyack and turned back around. For once I ate enough on the ride and today I felt fine (which means I am not dead tired like I was last Monday).

Sushi: Found a Sushi place on the upper east side which is cheap and good (good Sushi and cheap don't go together often or at all) . A little out of the way but it rivals Seo (michelin rated) in terms of quality fish which is about equal distance away. Will write more once i take some pictures of the food.

Whole Wheat Pasta: 3 soft chicken tacos immediately after I stopped pedaling (eaten in about 3 minutes) as iliterally speed dialed the taco place as I pulled into the bike shop. Followed by whole wheat pasta a little later. If you are still on regular pasta time to get over and make the switch. Way good tasting.

Trying to look cool...

Antigua pictures 008, originally uploaded by georouan.

but instead looking so fool.

At least my t-shirt looked rocking!.

This was from my recent trip to Antigua. I will write some details about the trip soon. Or at least that is what I am saying for now...chances are I wont write anything...

Fast Boy Fenders...

Fast Boy Fenders

Fast Boy Fenders: How cool is it that there is a NYC custom fender builder. I think I saw a set on a pair of Surly's last summer. They look so very sweet.

http://www.fastboyfenders.com/

But for me, the real excitement was the idea of a small renaissance of people thinking differently than what the masses have flocked to NYC for in the last 20 years: making things instead of trying to make the holey dollar. It is so very DIY and I hope that it is a trend that continues as NYC needs to have these types of people again in order to make it interesting. Diversity in the city has dropped since the 1980's and it is reflected in the way we consume and the expense of actual living. Manhattan is being filled with mid westerners with 100 dollar haircuts. The city has lost its edge and has been watered down from the wild west of the 80's.

And for whatever reason, this DIY (not settling for anything other than artisan style work has an appeal not so much for the desire of high priced fenders (which is there...) but because it is hand made by some one you might actually get to talk with...it is personal) type small company, resonates with me. It is nice to see the emergence of a small niche company.

Enough of my rant!

Ezra, the make of these fine handmade fenders seems to have it down as the fenders look the business. I love wood fenders. Jackie B runs them on his Salsa and it is pure style . The Fat Boy's might be on my short list for my commuter bike I plan on building in March.

Connections...

Joseph Campbell to start with...
Follow your Bliss.
The heroic life is living the indivdual adventure.
There is no security in following the call to adventure.
Nothing is exciting
if you know
what the outcome is going to be.
To refuse the call
means stagnation.
What you don't experience positively
you will expereince negatively.
You enter the forest
at the darkest point,
where there is no path.
Where there is a way or path,
it is someone else's path.
You are not on your own path
If you follow someone else's way,
you are not going to realize
your potential.

Connections:
It is werid how the world of bikes connects me to random people. The rite of passage of this connection is the love/need to ride. It is almost a cult like obession for the devote.


Once upon a time, church served as the place for gathering, socialization and prayer for the like minded. Not unlike the blind faith of the devote, I find kinship with those who have gotten religion and are into bikes/riding.

here are a couple of random blogs I read only because the authors ride...

www.joeydurango.com/
boxedbee.blogspot.com/-harlan just had his place totally broken into and had his 29er stolen amongst other things...

Bike porn of the day:
Gold Ti SS by IF.

Back from the hiatus and riding in Antigua

Hiatus: The writers strike forced me to shut down. Without my team of full time staff writers I am nothing...but that being said, I took a page from Leno and Letterman and decided to forge ahead sans writers. I am sure the quality will not quite be there but the people have spoken.

Riding in Antigua:
This picture is from my trip to Antigua. That day I rode a little more than 70 miles around Antigua including two trips in both directions over the rain forest hill.

This ride fits the description of epic and served as personal reminder of how lucky I am to be able to go out and suffer greatly on my bike. This ride was super hard due to the the miles but also the heat, not eating right and the number of super steep climbs. This picture says it all: sun screen all over, blank stare and the longing in my eyes for my safe NYC home as the locals don't always dig us foreigners...I think there is much resentment because of the colonial attitudes that seam to still prevail.

I will write more about the riding in Antigua on another post.

One for the day: One of my favorite daily updates is Reckon...they update random picture and highlight artist and other not so main stream goings on.
This was a recent goody...

Uptight 1st class chick with TP hanging out the back....

Pretty low brow for even me...but pretty funny none the less.

The picture is from a recent trip to the airport and this uptight rich (rhymes with...) chick in front of me had tp hangingout the back...very amusing.