The One Eyed View from the Saddle

Ready for the weekend?

2012-01-27T16:52:00.000-06:00

Try this one on for size.

Thank you Red Fang
Thank you AHTBM

Coming soon Lincoln, coming soon....

2012-01-21T12:02:00.000-06:00

KC Sprints - Occupy Duffy's Feb 4th Lincoln, NE

One for the weekend

2012-01-21T11:38:00.000-06:00

Hammer it out

Lifted from the Cycling Inquistion

OldSprints

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Via Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery

On Strike!

2012-01-18T11:20:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday January 18th this page was blocked out. The OEVFTS (& many other web sites) was on strike against SOPA.
You can learn more about this by visiting my post on the 16th of November 2011 Stop Censorship of the Internet or visit here

Thank you

KC Sprints Home Opener 4, Saturday!!

2012-01-11T10:52:00.003-06:00

I'm a little lagging in getting KC Sprints stuff done this year. I'm not sure why. I think a lot of it has to do with having no events before now. Well unless you count the debacle that was another attempt at having an event in Topeka.
We swear that town is cursed for us.

No worries. There is a chance to redeem ourselves this Saturday at the Buzzard Beach:

If you are a FaceBooker you can get all the details HERE but if you are at all familiar with how KC Sprints works (its pretty much classified as flying by the seat of our pants) you know the drill.

Tournament sign ups and Grudge Matches begin at 8 PM
Tournament racing begins at 9 PM
Tournament racers are racing for the chance to win prizes from our fabulous sponsors:
Twin Six, Surly, Eighth Inch, PBR, Urban Velo, All Hail the Black Market, Giro, Midwest Cyclery, Portland Design Works, and more!

For those of you that don't follow the KC Sprints blog, FB page or even just my stuff you may not know that this season Jones has taken upon himself, in his drunken boredom, to design our posters.
Granted the first one was more due to our "commissioned artist" taking his sweet time to get the poster ready. Jones got a bit anxious and started doodling. This was the result:

Realistically, considering the drunken state of the artist (or just the artist), its not too bad.
You can see the inspiration for Jones' creation in all its gruesome glory on his Flickr page.
Blah.
Pretty sure Corky will never live down being our "go to" puker at KC Sprints events.
I think she has puked at every event she has been at.

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3

We love her all the same though. How can we not? She takes our slogan seriously.

See you all Saturday night. Perhaps it will be your chance to use the bucket.

One for the New Year

2012-01-03T23:30:00.000-06:00

lifted form Rocket Family Racing (good folks and going on my recommend reading list)

Yes

2011-12-30T00:09:00.000-06:00

Sick Day

2011-12-26T20:51:00.000-06:00

Thanks Cory for the pick me up.

Food for thought

2011-12-20T09:15:00.000-06:00

**First of all I just realized that my last blog entry is the for stopping censorship of the interweb. Its been up for way too long although it is still an important issue. So back to the same old stuff....**

I was trolling the Surly blog tattempting to entertain myself during a slow December morning at the shop.
I decided to show a co-worker Sov's post titled :
Some answers to just about any bike forum post I've ever read
Its a good one, more so when you work in this industry. So good in fact that long time industry friend, BRose, took it a step further and got it tattooed on his back.
Thats a lot of little words...

Anyway, reading that post got me thinking which isn't possibly the best thing for me to be doing. More so if you follow my Twitter feed ramblings when I posted recently:
5 out of 5 friends agree: OEz needs to stop over thinking the stuff that doesnt need to be thought about. Just go with it & see what happens
(A post that doesn't really have anything to do with the bike industry mostly personal stuff but I digress...)

Back to the point.
Sov's post got me thinking about the questions that customers all ways ask. The big & often asked one being:
Why do bikes cost so much?
Then I remembered the little framed cut out from a magazine that the boss has behind the counter from the Bicycle Business Journal, March 1996.

Why Bicycles Cost So Much

When was gasoline 32 cents per gallon?
When were band personal loan interest rates 2.14%?
When was bread 10 cents a loaf?
When was coffee 10 cents a cup?
When were American automobiles $2,995?
When were American autos $595.95?
Where were apples 5 cents each?
When was a movie 75 cents?
When were houses $8,995 new?
When were televisions $29.95?
When were stereos $10.50?
When were car batteries $8?
When was rent on a house $35 per month?
When were quality shoes &7.50 a pair?
When was gold $10 per ounce?
When was a good pair of slacks $9.99?
When was a plumber $2 per hour?
When were good cigars 25 cents each?
When was milk 39 cents a gallon?
When did a doctor make a house call?
When was ground beef 20 cents per pound?
When did a metro bus ride cost 5 cents?
Why do most Americans think a bicycle still cost $29.95?
Why do most people think a bicycle mechanic should only make $1 per hour?

The views and commentary written here do not necessarily represent those of this shop. But, please keep in mind that as the price of almost everything but grain and gone up in this country in the last 100 years, so has the price of the bicycle. Also note, items 10 and 11 have never been that low for a good quality piece of equipment.

Thank You.

#23 happens almost daily in the shop. It seems that people have no clue that although everything else costs more these days, bicycles do too.
I had a discussion this week with a guy we was amazed that the 2012 Fuji Newest 3.0 road bike cost $860. He was even more amazed when I explained that the Newest 3.0 is considered to be an "entry level" road bike. He was positive, based off the price alone, that it must be a high end race bike. Not so.
This is not to say that it is not a good bike, but in comparison to lets say Fuji's Altamira LTD Team Edition at $9049 (the bike Fuji's pro team rides) its obviously not race quality.
Beginner race worthy? Sure. Pro race worthy? Not quite.

To quote the Bike Snob : "Nobody asks their friend who plays pickup basketball if he's going to be in the NBA All-Star game. But for some reason people don't understand that professional bike racing is like every other professional sport in that it's highly competitive and the athletes are professionals."

Stop Censorship of the Internet

2011-11-16T13:03:00.001-06:00

A little winter shop propaganda

2011-11-08T16:49:00.000-06:00

The temps are dropping and for many outdoor cycling season is coming to an end.
Don't spend the winter sitting on the couch in front of the TV losing your fitness you achieved over the warm sunny months. Spend the winter on a trainer keeping your fitness & building strength so you are ready to head back outside to preform your best come spring.
Midwest Cyclery stocks trainer models from CycleOps, Blackburn and Kinetic ranging in price from $159.99 (CycleOps Wind or Blackburn Tech Mag 3) and up.
There are rear wheel trainers for every need but if you would prefer rollers well we can get you those too.
Come see us!

Since I have your attention we also have some sales happening:

Select Serfas lights 25% off
All Sock Guy socks 25% off
The 2012 models from Kona, Fuji, Electra, KHS & Marin have started rolling in meaning that anything not 2012 is ON SALE!

Midwest Cyclery
3850 Main St
Kansas City, MO 64111

Wednesday Night

2011-11-03T01:26:00.000-05:00

(Poor scaner work. It was late.)

I got a text Tuesday night telling me that They Might Be Giants were playing at the Beaumont Club the following evening at 8. And I had a ticket.
Sweet.
Good show. Old songs. New songs. Good songs.
Turns out it was also video premiere Wednesday
They Might Be Giants noted during the show that the video for Cant Keep Johnny Down premiered Wednesday. Good stuff.
Assuming that by the time you read this they haven't un-embedded the video, here ya go.

(Even more poor (poorer?) scaner work. I should really practice.)

Not for skinny ties

2011-11-02T04:43:00.001-05:00

We could learn a lot from the Dutch

2011-11-01T11:22:00.001-05:00

They seem to have it figured out

lifted from the Kona COG

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

This is the only candy you get.
Stay out of my yard.

Coming soon to a bar near you...

2011-10-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Details on the FaceBook event page

Cyclocross. The other white meat.

2011-09-30T18:35:00.000-05:00

The Boss Cross race series are some of my favorite cyclocross races. Boss Cross is where I got my start many moons ago. Back when Kansas City CX races were actually held in Kansas City proper. Not in a neighboring community. Hell the couple times Cyclocross Nationals were in Kansas City the race didn't technically happen in KC.
Bah!
I'd love it if CX came back in to the KC metro area. I've heard rumors that the problem is the city and the amount of money they want to rent the parks for the event.
But thats just rumors.

I'm looking at a small CX season this year. Mostly because I don't want to travel.
The idea of spending more time in the car getting to the race than the race actually lasts doesn't appeal to me. Less so when the next day you are making the journey again.
If I was a fast guy, was placing high and possibly winning prize money I'd be singing a different tune I'm sure.
But I'm not. I do this for fun.
However, when my options are spending an hour plus in a car, then paying $25 to $35 to race for 30 to 40 minutes compared to just jumping on my bike in my driveway and riding all day for free...
Well, I know which one I'm going to chose.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm a big supporter of CX and if I'm not racing I'd go to a race to cheer and heckle. As long as its a race closer to home.

It doesn't help that my teammate and primary race motivater, Mr. Joshua, is out for the season injured. We'll put him to good use taking photos and passing out beer hand-ups.

Evil Cycling Kansas City will be represented at both days of this weekends Boss Cross series.
We'll see what happens.

New music Monday

2011-09-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

Serious. Serious. Seriously. Serious is what I want to be.

Readings

2011-09-25T13:41:00.000-05:00

From the Bike Snob NYC's book:

The bicycle ranks right up there with the automobile, the

sneaker, and the guitar as a ubiquitous cultural symbol. It's one

of things that's part of all our lives at one time or another.

Who doesn't remember their first ride without training wheels?

Your bicycle is the first vehicle you operate completely on your

own, and it occasions the first time in your life you lay out your

own route and choose your own destination. There's hardly

anybody who hasn't owned or at least ridden a bicycle at some

point in his or her life. I mean, sure, you do come across people

occasionally who never learned how to ride a bike, but it's rare and

a little unsettling. It's like meeting someone who can't operate

a washing machine, or a thrity-two-year-old guy who never

learned how to pee standing up. You smile politely, you pity them

silently, and then you move on down to the end of the bar.

Cyclist (noun) - One who rides a bicycle, even when he or she doesn't have to do so

Readings...

2011-09-19T22:41:00.000-05:00

Unbroken

Laura Hillenbrand

The day passed. Three times, a single wad of rice, a little bigger than

a golf ball, sailed through the door window and broke against the floor.

Once or twice, a swallow of tea in a cup was left on the sill, and Louie

sucked it down. Night came.

Another day came and went, then another. The heat was smother-

ing. Lice hopped over the captives' skin. Mosquitoes preyed on them in

swarms so thick that when Louie snapped his fingers into a fist, then

opened his hand, his entire palm was crimson. His diarrhea worsened,

becoming bloody. Each day, Louie cried out for a doctor. One day,a

doctor came. He leaned into the cell, looked at Louie, chuckled, and

walked away.

Curled up on the gravelly floor, both men felt as if their bones were

wearing through their skin. Louie begged for a blanket to sit on, but

was ignored. He passed the time trying to strengthen his legs, pulling

himself upright and standing for a minute or two while holding the

wall, then sinking down. He missed the raft.

Birthday tasty

2011-09-18T22:43:00.005-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes & thank you Aunt Debbie for the tasty cake

Well... Its that time of year again.

2011-09-16T00:22:00.000-05:00

Friday makes it 37.
So lets go out and see if anyone wants to buy me a drink.
Or maybe I should just go on a long solo ride, treat myself to some dinner and go to bed early.
Yeah... sure.
Don't worry.
I'll wear a helmet.

New Music Wednesday

2011-08-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

Gray Sky Appeal from Ricky Shabazz & The Boom Bap Boys

Grey Sky Appeal (Grey Sky Appeal) from Nicolas Heller on Vimeo.

Going Gold

2011-08-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Ordered a Gold KMC chain for a customer the other day so I added a few more for shop stock.
Figured its a little bling, surely someone will by them.
I was right. I did.
The Pake needed a chain so I figured why not go Gold?

Bling Bling

The Purple Hipster in all its glory

I'm sure it will look great until the first time I lube it or it just gets dirty.
But what the hell.
It was cheap and the PH needed a chain.
Besides its all in good fun.
Right?

Listen Up! New Music Wednesday

2011-08-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

New music for your Wednesday listening pleasure

Puta Madre Brothers

Mabye its the hair, or the glasses, the outfits, the mustache, the dirt...
Or maybe its just the music.
Either way I like it.

Lay your ears on this:

Thanks to Life Time Gear for showing me the way

Notes from the RAGBRAI

2011-08-11T09:00:00.002-05:00

I ended up on the High Trestle Trail bridge twice during my ride on the RAGBRAI this year.
But neither time was at night.
Dutch on the other hand made a trip across it in the dark.
It lights up.

High Trestle Trail Bridge during the day:

High Trestle Trail Bridge at night (video by Dutch):

I think another ride on the High Trestle Trail is in order.

Post RAGBRAI depression

2011-08-05T09:04:00.001-05:00

The RAGBRAI was a blast but all good things come to an end.

500 miles over 10 days of riding.

Here is a little taste:

A report is being written. We'll see if it ever gets posted.
OMB mapped out our ride, you can find it HERE

Its that time of year again...

2011-07-20T13:19:00.001-05:00

Time for the RAGBRAI!!

I'm heading to Des Moines, Iowa tonight with the OMB. Tomorrow we start riding west towards Breda, the big bagger meet up town.
Looking to be a grand week. Lots of friends to see, beers to drink, miles to ride and fun to be had.

2011 will make 10 trips to the RAGBRAI in a row and will earn me one more mark.

Gonna be sweet.
Full report and fuzzy photos some time after I return.
And possibly even a few of these:

Ride bikes. Drink beer. Talk back to the Police.

Readings...

2011-07-03T01:48:00.000-05:00

From the novel Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

"Look at us, dude," I say. I find the last bottle of beer and it's warm. I say, "All women have to do is get naked, and we give them all our money. I mean, why are we such slaves?"
Denny flips over the page on his pad and starts something new.
I move his rock to the floor and sit down.
I'm just tired, I tell him. It seems women are always bossing me around. First my mom, and now Dr. Marshall. In between there's Nico and Leeza and Tanya to keep happy. Gwen, who wouldn't even let me raper her. They're all just in it for themselves. They all think men are obsolete. Useless. As if we're just some sexual appendix.
Just the life support system for an erection. Or a wallet.
From now on, I say, I'm not giving any more ground.
I'm going on strike.
From now on, women can open their own doors.
They can pick up the check for their own dinners.
I'm not moving anybody's big heavy sofas, not anymore.
No more opening stuck jar lids, either.
And never again am I going to put down another toilet seat.
Hell, from now on I'm peeing on every seat.
With two fingers, I give the waitress the international sign language for two. Two more beers, please.
I say, "Let's just see women try and get along without me.
Let's just watch their little female world grind to a halt."
The warm beer tastes from Denny's mouth, his teeth and Chapstick, that's how bad I need to drink right now.
"And for real," I say, "if I'm on a sinking ship, I'm getting in the lifeboat first."
We don't need women. There are plenty of other things in the world to have sex with, just go to a sexaholics meeting and take notes. There's microwaved watermelons. There's the vibrating handles of lawn mowers right at crotch level. There's vacuum cleaners and beanbag chairs. Internet sites. All those old chat rooms sex hounds pretending to be sixteen-year-old girls. For serious, old FBI guys make the sexiest cyberbabes.
Please, just show me one thing in this world that is what you'd think.
To Denny I say, this is me talking, I say, "Women don't want equal rights. They have more power being oppressed. They need men to be the vast enemy conspiracy. Their whole identity is based on it."
And Denny turns just his head, owl-style, to look at me, his eyes bunched under his eyebrows, and says, "Dude, you are spiraling out of control."
"No, I mean it," I say.
I say I could just kill the guy who invented the dildo. I really could.
The music changes to an air raid siren. Then a new dancer struts out, glowing pink inside some sheer baby doll lingerie, her bush and breasts so almost there.
She drops on strap off her shoulder. She sucks on her index finger. Her other shoulder strap drops, and it's only her breasts that keep her lingerie from falling to her feet.
Denny and me both watching her, her lingerie drops.

Mmmm.... Bacon

2011-06-21T00:53:00.000-05:00

My house smells like bacon.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just trying to make you jealous.
Are you jealous?

More rain is happening.
Itching to get on some more dirt.
Guess I'll eat some bacon instead.
And listen to the rain while laying in bed and dreaming about riding Swope Trails.

Nighty night.

Ahhhh..... Fuck it.

2011-06-03T00:35:00.000-05:00

D'oh!

Due to forgetting how to read a calendar (we are blaming the short holiday week, our normal beer consumption and maybe even your mom) we've gone and made other plans.
Therefore Friday's KC Sprints event at the Union is...
CANCELED.

Oops.

Many apologies to the Union and our sponsors.

Uh... our bad.

One for Wednesday morning

2011-05-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

lifted from good problem

Its a 2 in 1... Mustache/Judgment Day ride May 21st

2011-05-08T12:55:00.000-05:00

Mustache/Judgment day ride. May 21 …2-n-1.

The word from the Curb Destroyer:

"I was wanting to have a ride where all will have a Mustache.
Grow it, Stick it, Draw it on.
Mustache Ride.
The date was also the same day as some people believe is “Judgment Day”.
Judgment Day Ride

Let’s do both at once... 21... 2-n-1... Mustache... Judgment Day... it all seems to fit

The ride will start from Midwest Cyclery, then go North East towards Knuckleheads, then back West towards Strawberry hill, then back towards Wesport to Buzzard Beach with stops, detours in between."

Meet at Midwest Cyclery at 4pm

BBG ...1. 2. 3. 4.

2011-05-07T02:01:00.000-05:00

BBG Chronicles: Episode 1 from BBG Kansas City on Vimeo.

BBG Chronicles: Episode 2 from BBG Kansas City on Vimeo.

BBG Chronicles: Episode 3 from BBG Kansas City on Vimeo.

BBG Chronicles: Episode 4 from BBG Kansas City on Vimeo.

BBG KCMO. Dig it.

Oops I did it again.

2011-05-03T02:14:00.001-05:00

Well if you haven't already heard through one of the other social media outlets I regularly whine about my life on...
i.e. my Twitter, FaceSpace or Mybook (possibly the only person who still has an active account)
Then you probably don't know that, per the normal, I got a bit carried away one night (this past Tuesday) with friends, crawled into the bottom of a bottle of booze, then crashed my bicycle on the ride home.
Pretty normal for me, right? Not so much this time.
The next morning I woke up early, not with a hangover (surprise!) but with a bad feeling something bad had happened.
And I was right, something had.
I rolled out of bed walked in the the bath room, looked in the mirror and was surprised to see a bloody battered face looking back at me.
A bloody battered face that was also missing teeth.
"Oh shit. This isn't good." Was my first thought.
"My Mom is gonna be PISSED!" Was my second.
Laying the bike down in some manner or another on the way home from a night out (sober or drunk) is a pretty regular thing for me. Typically its little to nothing. A failed track stand at a traffic light or sliding out in the gravel of the Trolley Trail.
Not this time.
Not being completely sure what happened (thank you booze and/or face plant) I can only guess.
And I'm not even sure what to guess besides that some where some how I came off the bike and plowed myself face first into the street.

Ouch.

So I'm left with this:

Which really isn't all that bad.
The mustache hides most of it.
There was/is pain. But its not the teeth that hurt. Its the busted up lip that hurts.
The teeth don't have exposed nerves and they can eventually be fixed (so much for saving that tax return for this years trip to the RAGBRAI... damnit)
My biggest concern is the lip.
Per a phone conversation with my favorite ER doctor, Dr. Greg Cummings, (see his article on ticks and Lyme disease in the newest issue of Dirt Rag magazine) after 12+ hours its a little late to get a lip injury stitched up should it need it. Its already started to heal and you just have to hope for the best.
So heres to hoping mine heals nicely.
Because as much as I like my mustache I don't want to have to have it.

Its been a just about a week and thankfully it does appears to be healing nicely.
The lip is a little tight. I can't make my "O" face or spit properly with out a bit of discomfort.
But all things considered I, once again, got pretty lucky.
I even managed to make it home with my bike which besides a tiny bit of wobble in the new front wheel is in prefect condition.

So. What have we learned today?
I do stupid stuff and when I do, stupid things happen to me.
No point in crying about it.
After all, I've got no one to blame but myself.

A little motivation to make the next KC Sprints event

2011-04-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

Up for grabs at the next KC Sprints event is a bike from Pabst Blue Ribbon.
It looks something like this:

Photo via cjfoeckler

Will it be the grand prize?
Will it be a raffle prize?
Will Jones try to keep it for himself?
All that is yet to be determined.
But it has been confirmed that there will be a PBR cruiser up for grabs one way or another.
Wanna chance at winning it?
Guess you better show up.

See you at the Replay Lounge April 22nd

A dose of truth for the weekend

2011-04-16T00:51:00.000-05:00

Just a wee reminder.

2011-04-14T08:47:00.000-05:00

Next event!
The Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS
April 22nd!!
See you there!

A last minute reminder from the KC Sprints crew

2011-03-25T02:06:00.001-05:00

Ya ya OK... We know. Pretty late on the reminder.
We've been busy. Seriously.

Plus we figured you already knew and that your calendars were marked.
But just in case you need the reminder....

Friday night (for many of you, TONIGHT, for some of your LAST NIGHT)

KC SPRINTS at the BUZZARD BEACH : Round II
You know the drill.
Tournament sign ups and Grudge Matches begin at 8 PM
Tournament racing begins at 9 PM

Tournament racers qualify to win fabulous prizes from out sponsors:

Eight Inch
Surly
CycleOps
Portland Design Works
Twin Six
Giro
Ghost Ship
PBR
UrbanVelo

You don't have to come out to the Buzzard Beach,
but you probably should!
You don't have to race,
but you probably should!
You don't have to drink,
but you probably should!
You don't have to challenge your _____ (husband, wife, boss, mistress, son, uncle, cousin, co-worker, fuck-buddy, neighbor) to a Grudge Match,
but your probably should!

Friday.
Get off work. Hit happy hour or have dinner with your family or friends.
Then ditch them or just bring them to the only 5 Star Dive Bar in Kansas City, the Buzzard Beach.
Have a tall boy of PBR and check out or maybe join in the fun that is KC Sprints

See you at the races.

uNKy jOIns, KC Jev Jev, One Eyed z

Welcome to Spring

2011-03-22T01:35:00.000-05:00

Ahhh.... yes. Its finally Spring.
Although I guess that image is more Spring Break than just Spring.

Riding Jones' pedal car in Kansas City's St. Patrick's Parade
Someone asked why I wasn't in the the photo. I'm taking the photo.

A post lunch rush quiet moment at MC.
Its been a great first two weeks. I'm really enjoying myself.
I really want to get the floors cleaned & waxed.

The first AM commute of Spring.
Drink by Broadway Cafe
I also picked up some new wheels for the Purple Hipster.
Photos and review report to come later.

KCS Propaganda at Broadway Cafe
Mmmm.... coffee

Round 2 March 25th at the Buzzard Beach
See you there!

Funemployment has come to an end

2011-03-07T00:17:00.001-06:00

I popped into Midwest Cyclery this past week for a visit and sit down with owner/operator Bob Albright. I was looking for a job and I'd heard that Midwest was looking of a good employee. Bob seemed to like what I had to say although I'm sure it helped that I had several people rallying for me to work there.
And I'm pleased to announce that now I do.
After my 4 month hiatus from employment I'm excited to get back to work in a bike shop. More so for one that wants to benefit from my years of experience and my eagerness to work.

Midwest Cyclery opened its doors in 1973.

At one point in time they had 7 locations in the greater Kansas City area. Midwest moved to its current location a year ago after many years in Westport.

Bob decided to abandon the Westport location after the building had fallen into disrepair and the landlord seemed unwilling to fix.

Funny enough the 3850 Main location is the same spot (at least the same corner) where Midwest was back in the 80's.
Its a sweet corner space with two levels. Most of the showroom is on the ground floor with the repair area down stairs.

Midwest is old school style bike shop with lots of history and I am eager to get in and get to work. Its a great location, with more potential than I think even Bob realizes.
Bob is excited to have me there, I'm excited to be there & we are looking forward to a great spring.
Come see us at 39th and Main!

KC Sprints at Buzzard Beach: March 25th

2011-03-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

Here it is yall...

Poster design by C. Burt

Buzzard Beach on Friday, March 25th. Its Critical Mass night so get your pre-drinking on with them and let it all come back out with us. Registration starts at 8pm. You know the drill...

One for Jones or just for humpday

2011-03-02T14:45:00.000-06:00

King Missile - Detachable Penis

Appropriate dinner attire? Yes.

2011-03-01T17:07:00.000-06:00

I got a new T-shirt in the mail today and happily strutted around the house in it admiring how happy I was with it.
Its the new AHTBM "I'm Fucked up. What are you?" shirt. Not that I needed another black T-shirt but I like to support what my friends do.

After a bit I realized that maybe wearing a shirt with the word FUCKED on the front might not be appropriate for dinner tonight with the Keithly's at our favorite Taco Tuesday haunt.

Thats when I remembered this other snazzy number I had buried in a drawer from Pink Bike.
Now that is very appropriate dinner wear.

I remember when I got this shirt back in... 2003? I wore it out one night with my girlfriend to dinner. Much like me she thought it was funny. The other folks at the Chinese buffett didn't seem to think so.
I got up to go refill my plate and upon my return my g-friend was doing all she could to keep from bursting out laughing. I guess as I was re-filling my plate she overheard the table behind ours say: "Oh my god. Did you read his shirt?!"

Now being me I think the shirt is fantastic. But I guess I could see how some people might be shocked and offended. But that is part of the fun, isn't it?

You kinda have to understand the context. Its a shirt about full suspension down hill rigs. The 7 inches being the amount of rear travel. The back of the shirt even has a very phallic looking rear shock on it.
Fun stuff.

This whole fun with T-shirts thing also made me realize how may T-shirts I have. I've got a lot. And by a lot I mean A LOT!
So many in fact that I'm gonna get out the camera and take some photos tonight for a new Flickr set appropriately titled T-Shirts.
And yes I know. I'm a dork. Funny things happen when you waste away a perfectly beautiful day inside.

Time to go get a taco.

Well... So much for that idea.

2011-02-28T12:47:00.000-06:00

I got some bad news from Crusty today:

"Guys thanks for getting a team together BUT unfortunately due to low number of teams the race is being cancelled.
Thanks for getting it."

In other words: No teams signing up means no MWI Gentlemen's Race

This is the 2ND attempt by Crusty to put on this event.
In 2010 about 12 other teams were all ready to go. Then a snow storm rolled into town dumping almost 6 inches of heavy wet snow the early AM hours of race day.
Watching the weather build up Crusty was forward thinking enough to go ahead and pull the plug the day before. It made sense. The course would have been treacherous in those conditions.
The local half of my team went out and rode most the day anyway.
It was good fun but really wet.

Jump to 2011 and the problem was lack of interest from other teams.
WTF?
Sure, the race would have been long and hard, the course was predicted to be between 75 to 90 miles of rolling hills with up to 50% of it gravel.
Hell my team doesn't have a "real" racer on it and we were all willing to do it.
Plus it was no entry fee. As in FREE
I'd bet money if Rapah showed up to hold their Gents Race here those same teams would be falling all over each other to sign up AND pay a big entry fee (*disclaimer* I have no idea if Rapah charges an entry fee. I know their event is "invite only" but I would suspect that if they do charge, much like for their clothing, its a lot).

Needless to say I'm a little disappointed in the those other teams.
Obviously the other real race teams in KC felt they had better things to do.
Although I would prefer to think the other invited teams were just too afraid of the powerhouse team that I was bringing to toe the start line.

So it goes.
Guess if I want to race, I'll have to find another race to set my sights on for the Spring.
Until then I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing.
Riding my bike and having fun.

A shot from Sunday afternoon's foggy ride

Everyday I hate the human race just a little more...

2011-02-27T22:31:00.000-06:00

On Friday February 25th a driver plowed through the peaceful Critical Mass ride in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Of the 130 riders 20 were hit and 9 went to the hospital.
Despite how it looks (you see the incident unfold in the video) all the injured riders were released from the hospital after treatment.

This serves as a tragic reminder that this could happen in any city at any Critical Mass.

The story that I got this video footage & photo from can be found here or just Google Critical Mass Brazil and there are many links about what happened.

Not for the faint of heart...

Readings...

2011-02-25T12:23:00.000-06:00

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen

Prologue

Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook. Grady and I sat at a battered wooden table, each facing a burger on a dented tin plate. The cook was behind the counter, scraping his griddle with the edge of a spatula. He had turned off the fryer some time ago, but the odor of grease lingered.

The rest of the midway - so recently writhing with people - was empty but for a handful of employees and a small group of men waiting to be led to the cooch tent. They glanced nervously from side to side, with hats pulled low and hands thrust deep in their pockets. They wouldn't be disappointed: somewhere in the back Barbara and her ample charms awaited.

The other townfolk - rubes, as Uncle Al called them - had already made their way through the menagerie tent and into the big top, which pulsed with frenetic music. The band was whipping through its repertoire at the usual earsplitting volume. I knew the routine by heart - at this very moment, the tail end of the Grand Spectacle was exiting and Lottie, the aerialist, was ascending her rigging in the center ring.

I stared at Grady, trying to process what he was saying. He glanced around and leaned in closer.

"Besides," he said, locking eyes with me, "it seems to me you've go a lot to lose right now." He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. My heart skipped a beat.

Thunderous applause exploded from the big top, and the band slid seamlessly into the Gounod waltz. I turned instinctively toward the menagerie because this was the cue for the elephant act. Marlena was either preparing to mount or was already sitting on Rosie's head.

"I've got to go," I said.

"Sit," said Grady. "Eat. If you're thinking of clearing out, it may be a while before you see food again."

That moment, the music screeched to a halt. There was an ungodly collision of brass, reed, and percussion - trombones and piccolos skidded into cacophony, a tuba farted, and the hallow clang of a cymbal wavered out of the big top, over our heads and into oblivion.

Grady froze, crouched over his burger with his pinkies extended and lips spread wide.

I looked from side to side. No one moved a muscle - all eyes were directed at the big top. A few wisps of hay swirled lazily across the hard dirt.

"What is it? What's going on?" I said.

"Shh," Grady hissed.

The band started up again, playing "Stars and Stripes Forever."

"Oh Christ. Oh shit!" Grady tossed his food ionto the table and leapt up, knocking over the bench.

"What? Whats is is?" I yelled, because he was already running away from me.

"The Disaster March!" he screamed over his sholder.

I jerked around to the fry cook, who was ripping off his apron. "What the hell's he talking about?"

"The Disaster March," he said, wrestling the apron over his head. "Means something's gone bad - real bad."

"Like what?"

"Could be anything - fire in the big top, stampede, whatever. Aw sweet Jesus. The poor rubes probably don't even know it yet." He ducked under the hinged door and took off.

Chaos - candy butchers vaulting over counters, workmen staggering out from under tent flaps, roustabouts racing headlong across the lot. Anyone and everyone associated with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth barreled toward the big top.

Diamond Joe passed me at the human equivalent of a full gallop.

"Jacob - it's the menagerie," he screamed. "The animals are loose. Go, go, go!"

He didn't need to tell me twice. Marlena as in that tent.

A rumble coursed through me as I approached, and it scared the hell out of me because it was on a register lower than noise. The ground was vibrating.

I staggered inside and met a wall of yak - a great expanse of curly-haired chest and churning hooves, of flared red nostrils and spinning eyes. It galloped past so close I leapt backward on tiptoe, flush with the canvas to avoid being impaled on one of its crooked horns. A terrified hyena clung to its shoulders.

The concessions stand in the center of the tent had been flattened, and in its place was a roilling mass of spots and stripes - of haunches, heels, tails, and claws, all of it roaring, screeching, bellowing, or whinnying. A polar bear towered above it all, slashing blindly with skillet-sized paws. It made contact with a llama and knocked it flat - BOOM. The llama hit the ground, its neck and legs splayed like a five points of a star. Chimps screamed and chattered, swinging on ropes to stay above the cats. A wild-eyed zebra zigzagged too close to a crouching lion, who swiped, missed, and darted away, his belly close to the ground.

My eyes swept the tent, desperate to find Marlena. Instead I saw a cat slide through the connection leading to the big top - it was a panther, and as its lithe black body disappeared into the canvas tunnel I braced myself. If the rubes didn't know, they were about to find out. It took several seconds to come, but come it did - one prolonged shriek followed by another, and then another, and then the whole place exploded with the thundersous sound of bodies trying to shove past other bodies and off the stands. The band screeched to a halt for a second time, and this time stayed silent. I shut my eyes: Please God let them leave by the back end. Please God don't let them try to come through here.

I opened my eyes again and scanned the menagerie, frantic to find her. How hard can it be to find a girl and an elephant, for Christ's sake?

When I caught sight of her pink sequins, I nearly cried out in relief - maybe I did. I don't remember.

She was on the opposite side, standing against the sidewall, calm as a summer day. Her sequins flashed like liquid diamonds, a shimmering beacon between the multicolored hides. She saw me, too, and held my gase for what seemed like forever. She was cool, languid. Smiling even. I started pushing my way toward her, but something about her expression stopped me cold.

That son of a bitch was standing with his back to her, rad-faced and bellowing, flapping his arms and swinging his silver-tipped cane. His high-topped silk hat lay in the straw beside him.

She reached for something. A giraffe passed between us - its long neck bobbing gracefully even in panic - and when it was gone I saw that she'd picked up and iron stake. She held it loosely, resting its end on the hard dirt. She looked at me again, bemused. The her gaze shifted to the back of his bare head.

"Oh Jesus," I said, suddenly understanding. I stumbled foward, screaming enen though there was no hope of my voice reaching her. "Don't do it! Don't do it!"

She lifted the stake high in the air and brought it down, splitting his head like a watermelon. His pate opened, his eyes grew wide, and his mouth froze into an O. He fell to his knees and then toppled forward into the straw.

I was too stunned to move, even as a young orangutan flung its elastic arms around my legs.

So long ago. So long. But still it haunts me.

I DON'T TALK MUCH about those days. Never did. I don't know why - I worked on circuses for nearly seven years, and if that isn't fodder for conversation, I don't know what is.

Actually I don know why: I never trusted myself. I was afraid I'd let it slip. I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did - for the rest of her life, and the beyond.

In seventy years, I've never told a blessed soul.

Gentlemen. Lets race.

2011-02-18T15:13:00.000-06:00

Once again I have found 5 like minded individuals willing to ride all day with me to take part in the 2011 MWI Gentlemen's Race.
Just like last year the event will be held on March 19th the first day of Spring.
Hopefully unlike last year we don't get a huge amount of snow overnight cancelling the event.

Info straight from the man himself Crusty:

Why recreate the wheel when it has been perfected? Well that is not the intention here, what we want to do is replicate what has been done by others.

Here is a quote straight from Rapha's first Director " I sold it to the racers as an unsupported, unsanctioned, unmarshalled, six-rider team time trial meets alley-cat, meets ‘Cannonball Run’. Inspired in large part by the Rapha Continental style of riding long days, gravel roads, hard miles and finding your own way," Slate Olsen.

The course will be in and around rural Jackson/Johnson County on March 19th, 2011. The first day of Spring.

For those of you who live in this area know that these roads are rough, narrow, and hilly. On top of that this year the gravel sections will make up more than 50% +/- of the race . The plan is having two checkpoints, a pass near one convenient store, and a party afterwards to celebrate our accomplishments of the day. The mileage will be in the 75-90 mile mark.

Rules:
Start with 6 members. Finish with 6 members to be officially scored/bragged about or harassed.
Elect one(1) person to contact for the event and pass on news to the team members.
Staggered starts will be required depending on the USCF category of team members.
Six(6) member rosters will be requested 4 weeks before the race. Must have rosters before team races, with 2 substitutes. Reminders will be sent out. NO Roster, NO Race.
Self supported, drop bags will be allowed with the checkpoint crew.
Remember you/team are volunteering to participate in this event.
Recommend not using your race wheels, we are not responsible for your choice's of equipment.
Have someone take a phone in case of emergency. Checkpoint crew #'s will be given day of event.
If you have a couple of volunteers please nominate them for help, just in case we might need more.

Rosters are due Sunday. I have sent ours in.
Looks like a good squad of locals and out of towners riding with me this year.

Our line up:
One Eyed z
Mr. Joshua
OMB
CVO
Raj
Mr. Clark

Should be good times.
We don't have illusions of winning.
We just want to have a good day on the bike, riding hard & having fun.
Hell if we can find a bar along the route we may not even finish the race.
After all we are flying the Evil flag.
Besides the other invited teams are filled with "real" racers.

The other invited teams:
360 Racing
Bicycle Shack Racing
Bike Iowa
Cow Town Cycling
Cycle City Racing
Epic Cycling Team
GP Velotek
KCOI Boulevard
LocalCycling.com
My Wife Inc
Slimenundgrossen
Team Colavita/Parisi Coffee
The Wheel Cyclery
In A Tub Cycling Team
LocalCycling.com
St. John's Shack
Team KCCX/Verge

We'll see in the coming weeks who has teams signed up.
Should be an interesting day.

For a little taste of what the Gentlemen's Race is all about heres a video of Rapha's West Coast Gentlemen's Race from 2010

2010 NW Gentlemen's Race from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Stupor Bowl

2011-02-16T00:04:00.001-06:00

If you know or hang out with Jones (AKA uNkY jOIns) at all you might have heard him grumbling a week or two ago about something called the Stupor Bowl. Grumbling because he had planned to attend only to discover at the last minute that the finances just weren't there to make the trip.
We made the trip up last year and had a blast. It was by far one of the best weekends I've had in Minneapolis.
I was supposed to go along this year too.
I was already wondering if I could afford to go so his decision to bail, although a let down, was also a relief.
It just wasn't in the cards for either of us this year.
Not that the weekend its self cost all that much, we have a free place to stay, all we would need is food and beer. Its the fuel costs for 14+ hours (round trip) of driving that is the kicker. Gas aint cheap.
Needless to say we didn't go. We found other ways to spend our weekend.

Back to the point.

The Stupor Bowl.
What is it?
The Stupor Bowl is the biggest and longest running Alley Cat bike race in North America.
An Alley Cat race is bicycle messenger style race where you have a number of destinations you must hit to get checked off you manifest. The fastest person to hit all the stops & get to the finish is the winner.
However, the Stupor Bowl also has another race with in the race.
The Stupor Race, where racers hit drinking stops and must do the drink for each stop. The fastest to hit all the drinking stops, have all the drinks and get to the finish first wins.
2 races, roughly 20-ish stops, approximatively 300 racers & one big party.
Simple enough eh?
Maybe not.
You have to keep in mind that this race happens in Minneapolis, Minnesota the first weekend of February. The weather conditions can range anywhere form 30 degrees and sunny to -2 and snowy..
The weather plays a factor. Icy and snowy streets play a big factor.
More so for the large number of racers that attend from out of town. Some from places where it never even snows.
Sounds fun eh?

Jones and I attended Stupor Bowl 13 last year and had a blast. And we didn't even do the race!
We cruised around town all day hitting some of the bar stops, spectating and generally have a good time.
You can see our photos from the weekend here (Jones) and here (mine).

Once again back to the point.

I was doing my normal web surfing and checking out some sites I like and came across this video.
Its called Down By the Weep Hole and was made during Stupor Bowl 12.
Its pretty good and gives you an idea of what the event is all about. It features many of the colorful characters of the MPLS cycling scene and has some good Stupor Bowl history in it.

Its about 25 minutes long so pop some pop corn, open a beer, kick back and watch it.
Odds are you are at work so its not like you have anything else to do.

DOWN BY THE WEEP HOLE: The story of the Stupor Bowl from Nathaniel H. Freeman on Vimeo.

There is a great recap of the event on the All-City Blog. Check it out.

Secrets...

2011-02-15T10:47:00.000-06:00

Bicycles maybe the secret to saving the world but lets not get carried away:

via Stephen M. Johnson

From uNKy jOIns on the KC Sprints blog

2011-02-10T13:18:00.000-06:00

The following is copied directly from the KC Sprints blog that Jones posted this morning.
To see photos from our last event (which the UMKC article is about) at Buzzard Beach click here

UMKC Article
This may or may not have been published yet:

Slow and steady may win the race, but you’d be surprised how far drunk and desperate can get you.

On Friday the 28th, Buzzard Beach held a bicycle tournament to find out who has the best inebriated cycling skills in Westport.

The event was sponsored by KC sprints 2011, which is a group of enthusiasts around KC who put on simulated bike races.

The seedy atmosphere of Buzzard helped to create a laid-back, contented feeling during the contest. Bar patrons were amused by the antics. Many were cheering riders on vehemently and drunkenly spewing swear words even more fervently.

Two riders face off. Each mounts their bike, one facing the other. The front wheel of each is gone, and the whole bike frame is held in place, fastened by bolts. The rear wheel of each bike rests between two stainless steel cylinders. The cyclist’s pedaling turns the bike’s wheel, which, in turn, spins the cylinders. The whole apparatus is hooked up to a machine that calculates the riders’ speeds and distances.

The competition was fierce, but it came down, as all races do, to the last two riders. They were known only by their aliases. TWA and Black.
Each rider, drenched in sweat, threw off his shirt, exposing a healthy grouping of muscles beneath.

TWA looked ready for anything. His eyes remained calm as a lake on a windless day while his back tattoo seemed to beg for freedom from the skin that held it captive.
But Black just sat as if a stoic God. His legs were all the strength he need command. Like tree-trunks, they were rooted fast to his bike’s stirrups. No sooner had the race begun than was its glorious victor shaking TWA’s hand, commending him for putting up as much of a fight as he had.

As the tournament slowed to a stop, hands were placed on the bare back of TWA, consolingly patting away. Then, promptly, those hands were whisked back and wiped clean of the rider’s slimy sweat on everything from tee shirts to skin-tight jeans.
After Black was announced the winner, friends rushed up to congratulate him. Fist bumping took place between sips of delicious yellow nectar housed within aluminum Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) cans.

During the competition, free PBR Stuff We All Get (SWAG) was being handed out. Most popular among the SWAG was a hand-cranked bicycle bell, the kind that goes ka-ching, ka-ching, with the PBR logo emblazoned on it by way of sticker. Ringing could be heard throughout the dive bar, and certainly throughout all of Westport that Friday night.

More than anything the event at Buzzard on Friday promoted bicycling in general.
A great deal of Kansas-Citians rely on their 2-wheeled machines on a daily basis to make it to school or work on time. The more places like Buzzard Beach can feature bicycle-related events, the more Kansas City can move towards a more bike-friendly future. And I’ll drink to that.

-Sam Towns

It also has been confirmed that our next Kansas City race will be March 25th at the Buzzard Beach (yes again, god bless the Buzzard Beach). If you missed the last one be sure you make out this time.
Again on Critical Mass night.
See you ladies there...

Hugs and Pinches
uNKy jOIns

There are some amazing things out there...

2011-02-09T18:22:00.000-06:00

And Crop Art has got to be one of them.

Picked up this little piece of amazement today off of local NPR station KCUR
I've seen images like this before.
I have no idea how its done. Now there is an award winning film about an artist named Stan Herd that knows how to make it happen. Its what he does.
Check out Earthwork the movie

I don't like your jerk off name. I don't like your jerk off face & I don't like you, jerk off.

2011-02-03T10:38:00.000-06:00

Compared to wasting a bunch of my time bitching about the cold and snowy weather I'll just let this clip do the talking for me.

And if that wasn't enough heres round two.

Back to shoveling

KC Sprints at Buzzard Beach...A damn good time.

2011-01-29T03:14:00.003-06:00

Back home from KC Sprints at the Buzzard Beach with a quick note before I crash out.

Lots of fun at Buzzard Beach tonight.
Good crowd and some really fast & really close races.
There was some some fast people tonight.

I couldn't find my camera so this is the only picture I got. We should have more coming from Rudy our unpaid intern.

Women's Top 3
3rd - Capt'n Coco
2nd - Pukey C (our favorite puker)
1st - Walleye

Men's Top 3
3rd - Weineis
2nd - TWA
1st - Black (reigning KC Sprints Champion)

Women's & Men's 1st place received: a pound of Broadway Coffee, a pair of gloves from Giro, pint glass from Eighth Inch & a short sleeved wool jersey.
The Women's was a Giro logo-ed Swobo jersey & the Men's was a Surly jersey.

Winner of the Raffle for the CycleOps Al Rollers was George the F.O.G. (Fast Old Guy)
Thanks for coming out George and giving it your all.
Even if most the time you were racing someone 1/2 your age.

Congrats to all of our winners!
We also want a give a big thank you to everyone that came out, all of our supportive sponsors and Buzzard Beach for hosting the event.

KC Sprints: In our book everyone is a winner But only some of you will get prizes...

2011-01-28T00:00:00.004-06:00

I decided to revamp my prize picks for KC Sprints @ Buzzard Beach Friday night.
Realized I got a little carried away and we'll still need to have some prizes for future races.
But we have some pretty sweet stuff up for grabs for the fastest of the fast.

The top 3 in the Men's and Women's classes of the tournament racing on Friday at Buzzard Beach will win...

Oh you would like to know wouldn't you?
But we aren't telling.
What we will tell you is that Friday nights prize package contains items from Surly, Giro, Eighth Inch, Twin Six, Portland Design Works, CycleOps, GhostShip, UrbanVelo, Broadway Coffee & PBR
It has an approximate retail value of... $525!
And thats not too shabby considering all we want from you is $5 and a little bit of sweat.
OK, a lot of sweat.

Extra bonus!!
We are also having a raffle.
What could you win? This one we'll tell you.
A brand spanking new set of CycleOps Aluminium Rollers!

These rollers have a $280 value!
Raffle tickets will be $5.
The more times you play the better chance you have of winning.
So be sure and buy up those raffle tickets!
You must be present to win.
So no slinking off thinking that you'll get a phone call if you win.
You aren't there, you don't win.
Simple as that.
We'll do drawings until we'll find someone that still there.

So lets review:
Friday night
Buzzard Beach
KC Sprints
8 PM tournament sign ups & Grudge Matches begin
9 PM tournament begins
Men's and Women's brackets
Prizes for top 3 of both classes
$525 in prizes available for the wining
Raffle for CycleOps Rollers
$5 for raffle tickets
Must be present to win

See you Friday night!

KC Sprints in the Pitch

2011-01-27T01:06:00.001-06:00

KC Sprints made the Pitch's online events page. I copied the published story below and added a similar but different photo..

KC Sprints Takes Buzzard

*****************************************************************************
Buzzard Beach
Price: free to watch / $5 tournament / $2 grudge matches
http://kcsprints.blogspot.com
*******************************************************************************
Biking On Your Can
by Angela Lutz

The list of things that haven't happened at Buzzard Beach (4110 Pennsylvania) is a short one. In fact, nearly everyone has a story about Westport's most notorious dive. Maybe you slid down the stairs on your ass, after too many 75-cent PBRs, or had an impromptu no-pants party on the patio or evacuated your last-call shots in the parking lot. Odds are, you've never competed in a head-to-head stationary-bicycle race, but now you can also cross that off your Buzzard bucket list. KC Sprints, now in its second season, has held numerous races throughout the metro using stationary bikes rigged with computers to measure riders' speed and distance. Registration starts at 8 p.m.; the cost of competing in the 9 p.m. tournament is $5 (or $2 for one-on-one grudge matches).
Spectators can cheer on the fastest sprinter for free but are advised to keep a safe distance — riders have been known to puke.

Just a little reminder about Friday's fun

2011-01-26T23:33:00.001-06:00

Tonight I started putting together the prizes for the Men's and Women's 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places of the tournament for KC Sprints at Buzzard Beach Friday.
A little something for the best Grudge Match of the night
And we are considering a SWEET grand prize for the best overall sprint time of the night.
We've got some really good stuff.
You'll be missing out if you aren't there.

Tournament sign up and Grudge Matches start at 8 PM.
The tournament starts at 9 PM.
Tournament is $5
Grudge Matches are $2 per racer.

So go do Critical Mass at 630 then come on over to Buzzard Beach all warmed up and ready to race.
Or just to have a beer, cheer on your friends & heckle your enemies.
What ever you decide its gonna be a good night and you should be there.

See you Friday!

Sunday Night Soft Core Porn...

2011-01-23T21:59:00.000-06:00

...Bike Porn that is.

This is from Fomenter over at Hellingham
All I can say is what he said... Wowzers!
Oh and be advised its NSFW!!

Любовь к велосипеду (bicycle strip) from Entropy on Vimeo.

"Thats probably the most ignorant blog I've ever done in my life. Besides the other ones."

2011-01-21T13:19:00.009-06:00

With allegations of Lance Armstrong's doping back in the news (don't think they've ever really went away) stories are popping up again.

Everyone has an opinion.
This video from video blogger The Real MrNikbagtv AKA "The Blogaholic" has been making the rounds.

Although I don't necessarily agree with him its just too damn funny not to spread around some more.

Some of my favorite quotes:
"Anybody from the hood knows who rides bikes everywhere... Crackheads."
"He's American. I'm American. What American's do? We do drugs."
"Why would you ride a bike sober?"
"Thats probably the most ignorant blog I've ever done in my life. Besides the other ones."

Readings

2011-01-21T11:43:00.005-06:00

An excerpt from

Rant

An Oral Biography of Buster Casey

by Chuck Palahniuk

The green color of the hillbilly's eyes, the shit on his boots, salesmen call those "mental pegs." Questions that have one answer, those are "closed questions." Questions to get a customer talking, those are "open questions."

For example: "How much did your plane ticket set you back?" That's a closed question.

And, sipping from his own cup of whiskey, the man swallows. Staring straight ahead, he says, "Fifty dollars."

A good example of an open question would be: "How do you live with those scary chewed-up hands?"

I ask him: For one way?

"Round-trip," he says, and his pitted and puckered hand tips whiskey into his face. "Called a 'bereavement fare,"" the hillbilly says.

Me looking at him, me half twisted in my seat to face him, my breathing slowed to match the rise and fall of his cowboy shirt, the technique's called: Active Listening. The stranger clears his throat, and I wait a little and clear my throat, copying him; that's what a good salesman means by "pacing" a customer.

My feet, crossed at the ankle, right foot over the left, same as his, I say: Impossible. Not even standby tickets go that cheap. I ask: How'd he get such a deal?

Drinking his whiskey, neat, he says, "First, what you have to do is escape from inside a locked insane asylum." Then, he says, you have to hitchhike cross-country, wearing nothing buy plastic booties and a paper getup that won't stay shut in back. You need to arrive about a heartbeat too late to keep a repeat child-molester from raping your wife. And your mother.

Spawned out of that rape, you have to raise up a son who collects a wagonful of folks' old, thrown-out teeth. After high school, your wacko kid got's to run off. Join some cult that lives only by night. Wreck his car, a half a hundred times, and hook up with some kind-of, sort-of, not-really prostitute.

Along the way, your kid got's to spark a plague that'll kill thousands of people, enough folks so that it leads to martial law and threatens to topple world leaders. And, lastly, your boy got's to die in a big, flaming, fiery inferno, watched by everybody in the world with a television set.

He says, "Simple as that."

The man says, "Then, when you go to collect his body for his funeral," and tips whiskey into his mouth, "the airline gives you a special bargain price on your ticket."

Fifty bucks, round-trip. He looks at my scotch sitting on the tray table in front of me. Warm. Any ice, gone. And he says, "You going to drink that?"

I tell him: Go ahead.

This is how fast your life can turn around.

How the future you have tomorrow won't be the same future you had yesterday.

My dilemma is: Do I ask for his autograph? Slowing my breath, pacing my chest to his, I ask: Is he related to that guy... Rant Casey? "Werewolf Casey" - the worst Patient Zero in the history of disease? The "superspreader" who's infected half the country? America's "Kissing Killer"? Rant "Mad Dog" Casey?

"Buster," the man says, his monster hand reaching to take my scotch. He says, "My boy's given name was Buster Landru Casey. Not Rant. Not Buddy. Buster."

Already, my eyes are soaking up every puckered scar on his fingers. Every wrinkle and gray hair. My nose, recording his smell of whiskey and cow shit. My elbow, recording the rub of his flannel shirtsleeve. Already, I'll be bragging about this moment of him, squirreling away his every word and gesture, I say: You're...

"Chester," he says. "Name's Chester Casey."

Sitting right next to me. Chester Casey, the father of Rant Casey: America's walking, talking Biological Weapon of Mass Destruction.

Andy Warhol was wrong. In the future, people won't be famous for fifteen minutes. No, in the future, everyone will sit next to someone famous for at least fifteen minutes.

Typhoid Mary or Ted Bundy or Sharon Tate. History is nothing except monsters or victims. Or witnesses.

So what do I say? I say: I'm sorry. I say, "Tough break about your kid dying."

Out of sympathy, I shake my head...

And a few inhales later, Chet Casey shakes his head, and in that gesture I'm not sure who's really pacing who. Which of use sat which way first. If maybe this shitkicker is studying me. Copying me. Finding my hot buttons and building rapport. Maybe selling me something, this living legend Chet Casey, he winks. Never breathing more that fifteen inhales any minute. He tosses back the scotch.

"Any way you look at it," he says, and elbows me in the ribs, "it's still a damn sweet deal on an airplane ticket."

Distractions, trainer rides, snow & chili

2011-01-19T12:38:00.003-06:00

Distractions. Distractions. Distractions. Distractions. And more distractions.

Thats what ya get when you are job free (which I've been referring to as "early retirement") in the middle of winter (That last one more often than is probably healthy for a man with my single status).

Last winter I borrowed a CycleOps trainer from BikeSource (FYI that photo is not me. Amazing the things a Google search gets you) and got cable T.V. to keep me from going bonkers.

It seemed to work.

I rode the trainer a lot, sometimes for a couple hours at a time, and watched a lot of T.V. The only time I seemed to go outside was to drive to work.

Not this year.

Although I own 3 rear wheel trainers & 4 sets of rollers (some these items are for KC Sprints use) with the exception of testing KC Sprints stuff I have logged zero miles on any sort of indoor cycling device.

Meanwhile the interweb is full of Facepage comments & Twittering tweets about how the snow, that is dumping on everyone seemingly nation wide, is causing everyone to retreat inside to trainer/roller sessions & spin classes to get their "training miles" logged.

Training miles?

OK I guess I get that if say you are a paid professional cyclist.

But in most cases that people complaining about the weather interfering with their "training" are the "weekend warrior" types that probably take racing way to seriously to start with.

You know the type. You probably either ride with one or are one.

Not that it is a bad thing. But more often than not you desire to take racing too seriously gets in the way of my racing fun. Well the few times a year I race that is.

"I ain't no racist." - Sov

Now that being said I'm not saying that I have hung my bikes up for the winter.

Quite the opposite.

I've logged more miles this winter outside in the cold and sometimes snow that I every have in previous years.

Case in point the 01/11/11 ride.

This winter I've made a point of getting out for some kind of ride, even if its just a short jaunt to the corner store almost everyday. Now for the racer types this isn't really training.

But then again like I said I'm not a racer type.

However, I'm outside on my bike not sitting inside whining about how the cold or wet or snow is keeping me off my bike.

If I want to complain about something I've got plenty of other things to complain about than the weather.

Besides sometimes that little jaunt to the store turns into an hour plus for bombing around the neighborhood.

Speaking of the weather:

If you aren't reading this in Kansas City then you aren't (well maybe not although its snowing or has snowed over most of the country) experiencing the Snowpocalypse. Right now all over the city people are freaking out, mobbing the supermarkets (if they can get there) or just sitting in rush hour traffic turning their normally 30 minute commute into a 3 hours commute.

Its a nice day to be unemployed.

Speaking of being unemployed instead of working on my resume today or on line job hunting I've worked on writing the above (funny how sometimes something so short and pointless can take all day) and making chili.

My chili recipe is a modified version of what my folks used to make.

Typically mine is a lot spicier then what we had as kids and the ingredient list seems to change almost every time I make it.

1/2 lbs of browned ground beet

1/2 lbs of browned ground sausage

1 hand full of real bacon bits

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can of red kidney beans

2 cans of chili beans

2 cans of black beans

1 can of black olives

1 can of Snap-E-Tom tomato & green chilies cocktail

*I also threw in 5 or 6 turkey meat balls (likely to get eaten in the taste testing process), some diced red, yellow & green peppers along with some jalapeño pepper slices (hence the spice).

Tasty stuff. Or at least I hope. I guess I'll find out in about 5 minutes.

Oh by the way. It kicks ass

KC Sprints video action!

2011-01-17T14:18:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone in Lincoln that came out to KC Sprints Saturday night at Duffy's Tavern.
Here is a little video by Elizabeth of Sheclismo
Full report with photos coming soon.

Sheclismo Presents: KC Sprints from nocoastfilms on Vimeo.

01-11-11 Ride

2011-01-15T00:00:00.001-06:00

If you missed it Tuesday of this week was a "historic" date.
01-11-11
Snazzy eh? Won't see that again. Not in this life time.
To celebrate a buddy of mine thought a little pedal powered pub crawl was in order.

The weather in KC had finally decided to turn more winter like a couple days before.

Sunday night it started snowing which continued through most of the day on Monday.
Tuesday it was a beautiful sunny day with temps at our ride time of only 14 degrees. Plus it was a bit windy making the "feels like" a brisk -2 degrees.
I think the temps, the snow packed streets and that we were doing the ride in the middle of the day on a Tuesday kept alot people from coming along.

But as you will see below, we still had a blast.

After a little pedal around the hood to run "must do" errands I headed to 75th Street Brewery to meet the guys at 11:11 AM
The plan was to get in a few miles and hit a couple drinking establishments and wrap it up by 1:11 PM (seeing a pattern here?)
1:11 because of the significance of the number but also so Trav could get home and save the baby sitter.
(That link is funnier knowing that Trav's little one is a boy)

As I rolled up to the bar I noticed only 2 bikes so I hoped that maybe, much like myself, everyone was running a bit late. I locked up and heading inside.

Turns out that the two bikes outside really was everyone. Ah well.
They were bellied up to the bar. Greetings were made. Hands were slapped.

A plan for where to go next was hatched. Beers were finished and off we went.
But not before getting a "group" photo of course:

We buzzed along the cold snow packed streets heading North.
The plan was to hit up Sharp's Bar and Grill for bloodies and some brunch so thats where we pointed our handle bars.

We made Sharp's fairly quickly and it wasn't because we were cold.

We were hungry.
Bikes were parked in the normal fashion and we shuffled inside to be greeted by the bar tender and its patrons with questions of our sanity.
A table was acquired, bloodies were ordered, and the menu was given a strong looking over as we sipped our drinks.

Trav and Murry went with the Johnny Cakes with a egg tucked in the stack.

I decided to go with a 1/2 order of B&G and spuds with an egg on top and a side bacon tossed in because... well because its bacon.

No meal is really complete with out it.

No photo of the Johnny Cakes. Sorry. I was busy eating.

We finished up breakfast with a tasty Boulevard beer each and then headed back out into the cold to continue our journey.
As we headed east toward the next spot on the list I notice chain noise that hadn't been there before. A few pedal stokes later the chain dropped off the chain ring.

Not wanting to fall behind I gave it a quick glance over and put it back on. 5 pedal strokes later it came off again. This time I gave it a little more careful look, still didn't see anything wrong so I put it back on and off I went... for another 5 or so pedal revolutions then it popped off yet again.
This is when I noticed that one of the chain links was coming apart.
Fortunately it was one link away from the quick link on my chain. So if figured I could pull that link by hand, reconnect it with the quick link and all would be good.

That was the idea anyway.
Unfortunately I had zero tool with me. Really all I needed was a 15mm wrench for my bolt on wheel. Trav said he had one but what he had was a Surly Jethro Tule which would have been prefect except I use B.O.B. Nutz so I can pull my trailer.

The Jethro Tule-o no fit-o
Damnit.
Trav attempted to use the Jethro Tule as a make shift hammer to push the link back together.

It worked until I put some torque on it and it popped apart again. I had gotten another few blocks down the road but had started to think my ride might be over unless the next bar (if I ever got there) happened to have a 15mm wrench or something similar I could borrow.
It popped off again and as I was putting it back on I noticed I was right in front of a auto repair shop. I stepped inside to see if I could borrow what I needed.
When I explained that we didn't have the proper tools the fella behind the counter smiled and chuckled saying "We? As in the guys that just rode off and left you?"
Yep.
He got me a 15mm. I pulled the wheel and shorted the chain as planned.
Then realized that minus a link the chain was almost too short to get the wheel back into the drops. It was in there but just barley.

I made sure to really torque down the nuts in hopes that it would stay put.
I didn't take into consideration until later that the smart thing to do would have been to flip the wheel to the other smaller cog (17t compared to 19t). But it worked out just fine.

OK. Only mechanical of the day solved.
I hopped back on and boogied down the road to Mike's Tavern where Trav and Murry were bellied up to the bar sipping beers and awaiting my arrival.
We picked Mike's as a stop for a couple reasons:
We hadn't been there in years and "back in the day" it was a regular pedal pub crawl stop.
The place has recently come under new ownership and was completely remodeled inside. Plus the bartender, Jay, is an old friend that I've know since I was 14.
We had a couple beers. Filled Jay in on our day. Took a couple photos of "Roscoe" the moose on the wall. Then said our good-byes.
As Trav pointed out it was well after 1:11 and he still had a baby sitter to rescue.

So back towards 75th Street Brewery we went.

We made it back to "Club 75" with no issues. The temps actually felt warmer but we also weren't riding into the wind. Once we were back we laughed about the day and talked about how we wished we had more time. We also got into Trav's thermos of hot chocolate and schnapps that he'd been carrying around all day.
We took a few "end of the ride" photos said our good-byes and parted ways.

As they drove off in their cars to other parts of town I pedaled towards home thinking about how it had been a great way to spend a Tuesday.
Bros, bikes & brews.
Sometimes theres noting better.

More photos from the day are over on my Flickr page if you are interested.

Thanks for reading. Stay warm.

KC Sprints makes the papers in Lincoln

2011-01-14T15:13:00.001-06:00

From the DailyNebraskan.com
(I took the liberty of adding links and the flyer)

Sheclismo, KC Sprints set to host fundraiser for cycling team at Duffy’s

By Emily Walkenhorst

Lincoln is a cycling town, all included.

Sheclismo (‘She' + the Spanish word for ‘cycling') is Lincoln's only all-female cycling team. With members ranging in age from 22 to 69, its presence is known — and growing.

On Saturday, for the second year in a row, Sheclismo and KC Sprints will host a fundraiser for the team at Duffy's Tavern (14th & O streets).

The event will consist of traveling organization KC Sprints' specialty: simulated bike races.
Starting at 6 p.m., bar patrons and registered participants will pedal 500 meters, as measured by computers and attached spedometers, atop stationary bikes. In addition to a planned tournament, attendees will be able to challenge friends and complete strangers to head-to-head races.

One of the founders of Sheclismo, Elisabeth Reinkordt, said last year's fundraiser filled Duffy's to the brim with bike enthusiasts and those just looking to have a good time.

"It's really not a serious event as much as it is for fun," said Dave Kosark, co-owner of Joyride Bicycles, a sponsor of Sheclismo. Kosark described last year's event as "raucous."

Even with the loose atmosphere and semi-drunk challenges, both Kosark and Reinkordt warn: The race is hard.

Reinkordt said fast racers can often finish in fewer than 30 seconds, but added, "When you're up there on the bike, it feels a lot longer."

Reinkordt also said she expects many grudge-match challenges this year from people seeking to even scores.

"There can be a tendency to have a few drinks and want to prove something," she said.

But one thing Reinkordt does not remember from last year's fundraiser was a large turnout of female racers.

Sheclismo is a somewhat new organization, with members who race competitively on roads or mountains and members who simply commute to work by bike every day, even through harsh winters.

Events like KC Sprints at Duffy's are a way of helping Sheclismo financially but are also recruiting tools for the team.

KC Sprints, an organization based in Kansas City, will provide all the tools and bikes necessary for Saturday night.

ScreenInk, a screen printing and embroidery business in Lincoln, will also be on site printing T-shirts throughout the night.

Aside from the flair of impressive technology and energetic atmosphere, Saturday will also be an opportunity to bring a community together.

"For a lot of us who enjoy cycling," Kosark said, "it's a way to get together."

emilywalkenhorst@dailynebraskan.com

EVENT INFO:
Duffy's
6 p.m.
$2 for head-to-head challenges
$5 for tournament entry

Just a reminder, We'll be in Lincoln this month

2011-01-06T10:53:00.002-06:00

KC Sprints at Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, NE January 15th
Presented by Sheclismo
Hope to see all my Lincoln homies there
Lets race!

Starting the new year off with....

2011-01-03T12:21:00.002-06:00

...Photos.

12/30/2010
60 Degrees
CX Loop

01/01/2011
New Year's Day dinner with the Keithly's

01/02/2011
Epic Holiday Cross

I'm sure there will be more to come.

On tap for the 1st month of 2011
*KC Sprints
*SATOPs & VIP Classes (Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program & Victim Information Pannel - required by state after my DWI arrest in August 2010)
*Cycling - road & dirt
*Job hunting? (probably should get back to work before I get too lazy)
!Gittyup!

...A Photo for Sunday

2011-01-02T20:39:00.004-06:00

..Shoe Tree

..along Blue River Parkway
12/30/2010 4:37PM
Pantech Impact camera phone

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T15:11:00.003-06:00

Try this one on for size.

Thanks Clarky

Evil Collaboration Jersey... WTF?

2010-12-28T16:51:00.005-06:00

Thats right.
For 2011 Evil Cycling decided it was time to spread the hate and create chapters of the Evil Racing Syndicate around the world.
In celebration of this this (and to make next months rent) Evil has teamed up with their favorite friends (i.e. the ones most likely to give us a ball tap) to release collaboration jersey:

Evil Cycling
Cars R Coffins
All Hail the Black Market
One on One

Full PRE-ORDER Info can be found HERE

If you want one don't delay. Orders must be placed and moneys must be in by January 15
No crying if you miss out.
This is your one and ONLY chance to get this jersey.

Please note:
This is NOT an Evil team jersey.
This is a collaboration jersey.
It is jersey only. Not a kit. No shorts/bibs.
Evil caps and socks are also available on the Evil page to round out the look if you so choose.

All you people who have been bothering me for years to get a jersey its time to get up off your wallets and buck up.

$66.06 plus shipping.

Make it happen before we realize what a horrific mistake we are making.

If I had a superpower this would probably be it

2010-12-26T13:44:00.001-06:00

From .onethrityfive.

Bicycles, Punk Rock & Tattoos... my kind of stuff

2010-12-25T21:51:00.003-06:00

Yeah yeah yeah. Its F'n Xmess. I know. But if your are expecting some kind of sappy Xmess post from me well then you don't realize the whirlwind mess my life has been the last 1/2 of 2010.

So if thats what you are looking for tonight well I suggest you look elsewhere.
Tonight as I loafed around the "O.E.z. Manor" coming out of the funk of the sickness I got in my stocking this year, I sought entertainment through a like minded blogger that more and more I have to come to appreciate.
NYC blogger Prolly Is Not Probably.
A while back Prolly posted a preview of a upcoming little documentary of the legendary BMX company FBM called I Love My Bicycle: the Story of FBM. A took a look and really wanted to see it.
I knew the name. FBM has been around pretty much my whole life.
I've seen their t-shirts & bikes. I've seen a few of Steve Crandall's (co-owner & founder of FBM) Road Fools videos (I even own Road Fools #14 for some reason). But since I'm not really heavily into BMX and I have had more than enough shit on my plate to deal with as of late I kinda forgot about it.
Until today.
For Christmas film maker Joe Stakun has released his FBM documentary in its entirety on his Vimeo account.
Which means everyone can see it for free! Which makes sense too since apparently all the hard copies sold out.
Gotta spread the word anyway you can.
So in doing my little part to spread the goodness here you go.
But at a little over an hour in length I suggest popping a top on your beverage of choice. And I guess it being Christmas and all means for some of you its eggnog. Personally I can't stand the stuff.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
There. There's your Christmas sap for ya.

Plagiarizing my own work

2010-12-21T02:06:00.003-06:00

Originally posted by me on the KC Sprints blog:

Back in the beginning of December we loaded up the gear and headed out to Topeka to take part in Flat Tire a benefit for the Topeka Community Cycle Project.

The shop facility space for the TCCP is huge and the people connected to it were great hosts. Which was nice since we ended up needing their tools, work stands and then, embarrassingly, some of their parts to pull KC Sprints off that night.

The night was riddled with one problem after another. Which was too bad because we went in to it ready to put on a great show & help raise money for the TCCP.
And according to the TCCP crew we did just that, although it didn't look that way from our end.

There were problems right from the get go.
First there was a communication issue with the restaurant Bosco's that our part of the event was in. The organizers were under the impression they were going to stop serving dinner early so we could pack the place to race. Bosco's either didn't want to or just didn't realize that was the plan. We could understand why. It is a nice place. Really nice. We couldn't believe we were going to race in there. Plus it was a Friday night. Prime eating out time for one of the nicer eateries in Topeka.
No matter. We worked around it.
Of the nights hurtles it was a small one.

While Jevon working on getting the software set up, Jones and tag along Rudy set up the rollers etc & I took the bikes down the block to the TCCP shop. The rigs were in desperate need of new rubber & a once over, something I hadn't had the opportunity to deal with.
As I said before for being a bike collective run by volunteers with donated equipment the TCCP facility was really nice.
I got the new ThickSlicks from Freedom by WTB installed (a company we should hit up for sponsorship) wiped down the frames, tightened the stems etc & hustled back down to Bosco's to finish the set up.
It wasn't until the bikes were back on the rollers and we were test riding that I realized the next issue. The Blue/White bike's short chain combined with the new bigger tire meant that when the bike was weighted the tire rubbed the frame. Back to the shop to scrounge up a little chunk of chain.
While I was correcting that problem Jevon let me know that we were also having some software problems. An automatic software update that happened over night wasn't working properly. Well OK thats putting it nicely. It didn't work at all.
Well, shit.

OK. Don't panic. No need for the normal projector and screen.
Jevon had a plan B.
Plan B was to put our spare little computer screen in front of the riders so they could see their progress.
But when we plugged it in we discovered that apparently its had a rough life since we used it last and the screen was cracked.
Aww...WTF?

No worries. Jevon had a Plan C.
Plan C consisted of Jones squatted down in front of the racers relaying the hand singles that Jev was giving him showing who was leading who. No easy task since Jev was determining who was leading who by watching code stream across his laptop screen.
It looked something like this:

OK. So finally we are racing. Problems are solved.
Well not all of them. Not yet.
About 1/2 way though the grudge matches the Blue/White bike started having problems again. The seat post was slipping down during the race. We kept clamping it tighter but it kept slipping. Finally I pulled the seat post then loosened up the quick release all the way to take it off and give it a look. When I did so I discovered that the resin washer (for lack of proper term that I know it has) had broken in half, which then promptly fell out.

Good grief.

I stuck a regular flat metal washer that we had in the tool box in its place but it still wouldn't hold. So it was time for another trip back to the TCCP shop to dig around in their parts.
Thankfully I found exactly what we needed and we were back to racing again.

At this point we (Jones, Jevon & I) had all individually decided that after a couple more races we were going to suggest packing it up & going home.
As it happens we only had a few more races before we realized something else was wrong. This time with the Red/Black bike.
At first we thought that we had a bearing going bad on the rollers, which would have been really odd. More so on a sets of nice CycleOps Rollers that were only a few years old. But it was much simpler than that. Apparently when I had replaced the tires I had managed to pinch the tube giving it a nice sloooow leak. The new fat ThickSlick tires hid this obvious detail until a rider was on the bike. Which would explain why some riders were out of the saddle leaning dangerously over the handle bars when on the Red/Black bike.
Oops. Sorry about that guys.
That however, was the last straw and good enough reason as any to call it quits for the day.

Now while all this was going on in the basement restaurant upstairs the other 1/2 of the Flat Tire event to benefit the TCCP was taking place. Consisting of 3 bands & a silent auction.
We didn't stick around though. We were fed up with our poor performance & frankly a little embarrassed.
However, the fine people of the Topeka Community Cycle Project said that the event was great. They got what they wanted out of it and they had a big & successful turn out.
Which is good. Since that was what it was all about anyway.

If you want to see more photos from the event you can see some more of the above either at uNkY jOIns or the One Eyed z Flickr pages.

KC Sprints want to thank the good people of the Topeka Community Cycle Project for letting us be a part of their event. Not to mention the use of shop, tools and the couple little parts we "borrowed".
Thanks gang!

Up next (besides some serious software, bicycle & equipment check overs) KC Sprints returns to Duffy's Tavern in Lincoln, NE January 15th.
Last year Lincoln was not only our 1st out of town event but by far the best event of the season. Lincoln set the bar pretty high for our KC Sprint events. We are hoping that all the kinks are worked out of the system so that in 2011 the Lincoln event can be even better than it was in 2010.
Don't worry Kansas City, we haven't forgotten where we came from.
KC Sprints holds its first Kansas City race January 28th at the Buzzard Beach. It will be the January Critical Mass post party.
Should be lots of fun. Hope to see you at the races!

Catching up with the RAGBRAI in videos

2010-12-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

OK so my RAGBRAI recap post never actually happened. Sorry.
But the other day I had a post with a video about touring so I've been thinking about it again.
Today when I had some free time and was uploading the video about the CycleOps Blender that we have on loan for KC Sprints I went ahead and up loaded my videos from the 2010 RAGBRAI

Day 6, drunk & a little behind:

Later that day still far behind:

Swimming hole:

After the swimming hole with Team Pink Floyd:

Ted post tire dip:

Who wants a drink? I do! I do!

2010-12-10T14:38:00.003-06:00

CycleOps makes a blender?
Yes. Yes indeed they do.
Check this thing out.

Once again this season CycleOps is one of KC Sprints great sponsors.
Outside of getting us some items to use for swag and prizes (even a set of their rollers for a Grand Prize!) the local rep (Thanks Ron!) thought it would be a great idea to loan* us his new never used CycleOps Pro Series Trainer Blender.
*(Loan as in the thinks he is getting it back. Doubtful. When the snow flys I can see indoor "training" taking on a whole new dimension since I can also make tasty drinks)

For serious.

It arrived today and I set it up in my living room to check it out.
Basically it is their Pro Series Trainer modified to power a blender.
I haven't made any drinks in it yet (I'm sure I will tonight, Jones... bring ingredients over tonight!) but I don't see why it wouldn't work like a champ.
We will have this out at the KC Sprints events this year.
Hopefully any bar we are in will let use set it up and blend some of their tasty drinks for them.
Why the hell not, eh?

Lets have a drink!

3 Great Tastes That Go Great Together

2010-12-08T09:46:00.008-06:00

What happens when you combine cycling, great music and amazing videography?
You get things like the videos below.
These have been making the rounds as of late but I like them so much that I just had to post them myself. Plus this way when I want to view them again (and again and again) I know exactly where to find them. Clever eh?
They are amazing to me for similar but different reasons.
Similar being the wonderful music and well shot scenery
Different being the completely separate disciplines of cycling they represent.

First up is Thirty Century Man which I pick up off of FaceBook thanks to Hurl. The version below is the Viemo version that I found via Prolly Is Not Probably. It is the same as the NOWNESS.com version just smaller.
For the full effect & the story behind it, I suggest viewing the original here

Next we have some Trials action from across the pond.
I have seen this posted other places but could never get it to load. I found a working version today while surfing Fyxomatosis.
Red Bull rider Danny MacAskill has some amazing skills. The music and once again the scenery are amazing as well.
Check it out below or here:

Hope all you working stiffs have a good Wednesday.
Think I'll go for a bike ride.

Pushing North

2010-12-05T07:54:00.003-06:00

I was breezing though Prolly Is Not Probably this morning while I wait for Jones and came across this little vid.
I've really only done a minor amount of touring in my life. Mostly consisting of the RAGBRAI. I've always enjoyed it but its always the same time of year with predictable weather.
A tour like the one in the video would be a whole different experience.
This new film entitled Pushing North covers Marcus Johannes and Dirk Badenhorst's trip from Key West, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska. A journey that took the two cyclists over 6000 miles and 89 days to complete.
Something like this is one of those things I've always wanted to do.
This clip makes the movie and doing such a trip really appealing.

..pushing north (Extended Trailer) from Marcus Johannes on Vimeo.

Its back!

2010-12-02T22:43:00.003-06:00

I hadn't give up the hope it would find its way back to me and recently if finally did.

The long version:
I got my purple Pake (PAA-KAY) back after mistakenly misplacing it.
"Mistakenly misplacing it" meaning I was a little drunky riding home from a party early one Saturday morning and crashed it. I got up and for some reason wandered away with out the bike.
I realized this when I "woke up" walking home. At first I thought that I had decided to leave my bike at the party until I realized that my u-lock was in my pocket and my helmet was on my head.

Shit.

I was pretty close to home and kind of bloody from the crash so I decided that the best choice was to go home, clean up and then go search.
I got home, cleaned up and passed out.
A few hours later a friend came by and we set out on the search.
Obviously we come up empty handed.
A couple days later I took a look at Craig's List just to see if by chance anything was listed.
I found an post in the Lost and Found section:

"Found - Brookside trail
Found bicycle along the Brookside Trail - 57th and Wornell - Describe to claim"

I sent an email with the description of the Pake right away
I waited a couple of days and didn't hear anything back
So I tried again. No answer. Again. Nothing. Again. Nothing.
This went on for almost 4 weeks. I was getting frustrated. I put up my own Craig's List post.
Nothing.
Then out of the blue last Saturday I got a text message from my old boss at BikeSource. He gave me a name and a number with and suggested I call it because he thought they had my bike.
Sure enough.
Turns out that the gentlemen that found my bike never got any of my emails.
He finally decided to try and track me down.
He typed Evil Pedalphile Kansas City in to Google and one of my blog entries comes up as the first result.
I couldn't believe it so I tried it myself.
It works.
Freaky.

Through my blog he found BikeSource.
BikeSource contacted me.
I contacted him.
I got my bike back.
Happy days are here again.

Tougher than me. Much tougher.

2010-11-30T12:25:00.005-06:00

I stumbled across this clip of the movie Bicycle Dreams via FaceBook today.
I've know about the RAAM, Race Across America, for years. Seems like one hell of a challenge.
I would like to believe that I could do it but I know thats not true.
Ride across America give the proper time and equipment I know I could do.
But RACE across? 3000 miles in 10 days? No thanks.
Not the kind of challenge my mind and body are able to take on.
Not only am I not tough enough physically but mentally I sure I would crack well before the mountains.
I would like to see the entire Bicycle Dreams film though.
It has won several awards at film festivals and looking at the trailer it appears to be well made.
Its available on DVD via Amazon.com so maybe one of my very few readers will buy it for their favorite unemployed bloggger for Xmess.
Eh?

Looking at the RAAM site I found a little video recap of the 2010 RAAM event.
Enjoy

KC Sprints found some sponsors

2010-11-29T22:18:00.002-06:00

Well well well... Looks like KC Sprints have found some sponsors for the 2010/11 season.
Some are repeat sponsors & a few are brand spanking new!
Who are they you might ask?
Well...

The repeat sponsors:

PBR

UrbanVelo

Eighth Inch

CycleOps

Giro

All Hail the Black Market

The brand spanking new sponsors:

Portland Design Works

GhostShip

We are very excited to have gotten the support of these sponsors.

First race is this weekend. Topeka, KS here we come!

Because taking racing seriously is just silly

2010-11-24T13:57:00.001-06:00

Another new favorite song

2010-11-19T06:06:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week a friend turned me on to Delta Spirit.
I gave them a listen and then had to purchase their album History from Below
For the last two days I've listened to the album on repeat constantly.
There are some great songs on it and I decided that one of my favorites was Bushwick Blues
Its got good lyrics and a pretty good video too
Check it out below.

Hold on to my hand
Never let go
Never let go

We were just two kids acting tough
Then we grew up
Me, not so much

All the other guys
that you've seen
Are nothing compared to me

Because my love is strong
And my heart is weak
After all

When we first met
We spoke so brief
When you sang a sonnet
I hummed sweet relief

Do you recall that night
we took the L
Out into Bushwick?
It was colder than hell

So maybe there
We should have stopped
Cause I'm left here
feeling like a cop

Because my love is strong
And my heart is weak
After all

To the other side
of the state's return
I met a young girl
Well I couldn't manage her

Because I think of you
In every girl I meet
It's no relief
That sounds to me just as sweet

So maybe I'm the fool for feeling used
But the way we kissed that night I thought you knew

Because my love is strong
And my heart is weak
After all

KC Sprints, Mustaches & Beer

2010-11-18T14:51:00.006-06:00

Jones and I were talking the other night (drinking beers) when he mentioned that with our KC Sprints 1st event of the season coming up perhaps we should repost that sweet promotional video that Lucas Marshall made for us after our Lincoln event last January.

So here ya go.

Since I'm on the topic of KC Sprints, Jones is also strongly considering getting some KCS hoodies made.
Not sure what the cost to you would be for them yet. As of now they don't even exist except for on paper but Jones (and maybe me) should have them on soon while we are out and about.

So if you think you might be interested in getting one shoot us an email at KCSprints@gmail.com

November is also know as Movember. Around the world men are growing mustaches to raise awareness for men's cancers.
And since women don't want to be left out today November 18th, er... Movember 18th, is "Have Sex with a Man with a Mustache Day"
Needless to say with a mustache like mine I've been patiently waiting by the phone and computer for an phone call/text message/email from some gal who wants to do her part to show her support in the fight against cancers that affect men.
I think I'm gonna have a long wait.

And while I wait I might as well have a beer.
Yesterday was Boulevard Brewing Company's 21st Birthday!
Happy Birthday to my favorite beer!

I'll have a Pilsner please!

Bike Commuting. Do you do it?

2010-11-10T15:19:00.003-06:00

As we move into the cooler temps of fall are those of you that commute still commuting?
And if so how far into the winter months do you commute?

This year has been a banner year for me as far as commuting goes (everything else has kinda sucked).
When I was working for BikeSource out at 135th I was commuting 30 miles a day pretty much 5 days a week
I parked my car elsewhere (Father's shop in Grandview) at the end of April forcing me to ride full time (amazing the motivation to ride this creates).
The only driving I did was for going to/from the events that I worked for BikeSource in the company van.
I didn't drive my car until I headed north to start the RAGBRAI in the last weeks of July.
Once I got back from the RAGBRAI I got right back in to daily commuting for a couple a months.
Then I started to slip a little.
Since my van was in my driveway I found myself making excuses to drive on occasion.
The brief period that I was doing some work at the new BikeSource location (opening January 2011) my commute dropped from 30 miles a day to 10.
Seemed strange for it to take 3 commutes to hit the mileage that I was previously getting in one day.
The upside to the shorter commute was I figured I could do it year round no matter what the weather decided to do.
Now that I'm unemployed I don't really have a "commute" to do.
Should be nice to get back to getting my mileage from "pleasure" riding

Back to the point...
Are you still commuting?
How far is it round trip?
How far into the fall/winter will you commute?
Do you have s specific bike that you commute on?
Is the weather what determines if you commute or not?

Since I'm unemployed...

2010-11-10T01:34:00.002-06:00

Brrraaaappppp!!

Thumbs down for Friday

2010-11-05T14:31:00.006-05:00

Well I knew it was bound to happen at some point and today it finally did.
BikeSource decided that after a good 10 year run it was time we part ways.
I'm not thrilled by it but I also realize that it was partiality my own foolishness that created the situation.
I won't bother boring you with the details.

Needless to say for the first time in a long time I find myself unemployed.
I'm a little frightened since I'm not even really sure what to do next.
On one hand this really f'n sucks.
On the other, more positive hand, I see it as an opportunity to make some much needed changes in my life.
Changes that probably should have been made 5 years ago after what should have been a life changing, near death wake up call.

The last several months have been like one kick in the nuts after another.
On top of my persistent finical struggles there has been a DUI, the loss of my new purple Pake (a whole other story), family members being diagnosed with cancer, & now with getting fired I don't know how much worse things could get.

So now what?
Where do I go from here?
I'm not sure.
But I'm open to suggestions.

Coming January 2011

2010-11-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

BikeSource of Kansas City is opening up a 2nd KC area location in the RanchMart shopping center at 95th & Mission.
The store is under construction currently and should be open for business mid January 2011.

My new favorite song!

2010-10-25T16:33:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Bike Snob NYC and this guy I have found my new favorite song to ride to.
Enjoy!

"Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?"

2010-10-24T17:22:00.003-05:00

"Right Where It Belongs"

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

[Chorus:]
What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you're really all alone?
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the woods
While you're hiding in the trees

[Chorus:]
What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems?
What if all the world you used to know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

Riding the purple bandwagon...

2010-10-20T16:39:00.005-05:00

Start wearing purple wearing purple
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity and wits they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time...

So yeah, ha

Start wearing purple wearing purple (he)
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity and wits they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time...

I know you since you where at twenty, and I was twenty,
but thought that some years from now
a purple little little lady would be perfect
for dirty old and useless clown...

So yeah, ha

Start wearing purple wearing purple
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity and wits they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time...

So yeah, I know it all from Diogenes to the Foucault
from Lozgechkin to Passepartout
I ja kljanus obossav dva paltza - chto ty!
shto muzyka poshla ot "zvukov moo"

Start wearing purple wearing purple (da da da da da)
Start wearing purple for me now

Start wearing purple for me now!

All your sanity and wits they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time...

So Vio-Vio-Violetta! Etta! Va-va-va-vaja dama ti moja!
Eh podayte nam karetu, vot etu, i mi poedem k ebenjam!

So yeah, ah start wearing purple wearing purple
Start wearing purple for me now
All your sanity and wits, they will all vanish
I promise, it's just a matter of time!...

GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has declared today (10/20/10) Spirit Day, a day of support and solidarity against anti-gay bullying (which has become a national talking point in the wake of the recent suicides of Tyler Clementi and other gay teens). Since purple represents "Spirit" on the official LGBT flag, it makes sense that people could show their support via a little splash of purple.

Pretty...

2010-10-11T10:59:00.004-05:00

OK so I may not be able to afford any of the cycling clothes made by Rapha but they sure do take some pretty pictures.
They also put on the Gentlemen's Race which I would love to do some time but doubt I am strong enough to handle.
Found this vid of one such race this morning via AHTBM while I was chomping down my breakfast burrito.
The best part (besides being well shot and edited with good narration and tunes) is that I know some of the people who participated in it.
Enjoy

2010 NW Gentlemen's Race from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Evil in the 816

2010-10-10T21:44:00.005-05:00

A few Evil sighting in CX events recently

Boss Cross #2 in Riverside 10/03/10

Photo by Roger Harrison

Watch for Evil x2 at about 1:03 and the carnage begins

Cross Out Cancer 10/10/10

Photo by Laura Keithly

Results?
Typically middle of the pack or DNF
We've been racing two races per event when two races are available.
Masters 35+ & single speed

KC Sprints @ The Replay Lounge for the Octoginta

2010-09-30T19:43:00.002-05:00

Fall is in the air and its time again for the Octoginta.

What is this Octoginta you ask?
Well, its the annual end of the season road ride in Lawrence, KS and this is its 41st year.
Its a big weekend in the old L-town and this year its only gotten bigger.
Not only is there the actual Octoginta ride, a 40 or 80 mile ride through the beautiful northeast Kansas country side, on Sunday the 10th.
There is also a Time Trial (@7AM), Tour de County (@9:30AM), a Gravel Grinder (also @ 9:30AM), & a swap meet (@ 2PM) all on Saturday the 9th.

But the absolute best part...
as the opening act for the weekend....
yours truly...
KC Sprints!

So, where do you need to be on Friday October 8th?
At the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS of course!
The Replay will once again play host to KC Sprints.
This time around the race is a benefit for the lovely ladies of the Women's Free State Racing Team !

So come on out. Cheer your friends, race your enemies, drink some beers and have a good ol' time.

The fine print:
Registration is at 7 p.m. and racing begins at 8. Register for the tournament ($5), grudge matches ($2), or both. Proceeds go to Women's Free State Racing Team. Ages 21 and over.

Tour de BBQ this weekend

2010-09-29T13:15:00.002-05:00

LIVESTRONG Day! Get out and join the ride, the cause the community, 10/2/10.

Whether you are a racer, a rider or you like to volunteer, we can use you. There is a 15, a 30 and a 60 mile option. Don’t have a bike? Borrow one. Need a good excuse to buy a new bike? Can’t think of a better one! Concerned that you don’t “race”? No worries, this is a ride from BBQ stop to BBQ stop. You know how to ride, right? You know how to eat, right? Then you can participate! Don’t ride? Volunteer and eat BBQ.

Details:
http://tourdebbq.com/

DATE & TIME:
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Day of Registration: 6:00 AM (*If you register the day of you are not guaranteed a t-shirt)
Ride Start Time: 7:30 AM (Staggered start, everyone must arrive no later than 7:30 am)
Concert by Smash Mouth: 3:00 PM
Register today!

LOCATION:

Kansas City’s Power & Light District
1100 Walnut Street
Kansas City, MO 64106

*Riders will line up on Grand Street to start the ride.

LIVESTRONG Pavilion: Walnut Street will house the LIVESTRONG Pavilion with barbecue, Boulevard beer and a concert (in the KC Power & Light Living Room) sponsored by GEN X Radio 99.7 FM. Stay tuned for more details on barbecue restaurants featured and a special concert announcement later this summer.

KC Cup CX wrap up

2010-09-23T00:22:00.002-05:00

The KC Cup has come and gone
For a little taste of the CX action on Saturday check out this video of race footage:

KC Cup Cyclocross, 2010 from Keith Walberg on Vimeo.

If you were watching close you caught the Evil & AHTBM duo of Mr. Joshua & myself.
But if you missed it... we are at 1:06, 1:22 & 1:51
Yeah I watched a few times. So?
There is another video of the race course that is all helmet cam here
Its pretty long so I suggest turning the sound down (mostly wind noise) and turning up some music while you view it.
I chose to play some selections from The Bronx
Seemed to fit nicely

Mr. Joshua & I foolishly decided to double dip on the day doing two races each.
Masters 30+ on our geared CX rigs (what the video footage caught)& then, after an all but too short break, we raced again in the single speed class on ... well our single speeds.

A pirated shot from the Masters 30+ start:

Much to our surprise (and everyone else) the Evil/AHTBM duo landed on the podium in 3rd and 5th
Not really a surprise, however, were our results from the SS race.
11th & 12th also known as last & next to last.
We were tired.
The awards were right after the finish of the SS race, if you can't tell by how how cooked we look.

Man I take a bad podium photo...

Over all not a bad start to the CX season
Next weekend all new for 2010 is Manions CX
I'll be working Bike MS (the former MS150) all weekend so I hope I'll be done in time to hit up at least one race that day.
But we'll see. Last year all I ended up doing was heckleing.

Have a good week & we'll see you at the races

Little music for your Wednesday

2010-09-22T17:26:00.003-05:00

A couple of tunes that have been in my head a bunch as of late.

Happy Hipster Birthday

2010-09-20T16:19:00.000-05:00

As you may or may not know my birthday was recently.
And as you may or may not recall back in June I finally killed my beloved Peugeot
At the time I felt the urge to replace my "daily driver" right away.
I explored options of buying something etc but decided to just build up a old steel road frame I had laying in the bike room.
It was a good move & I rode it daily for 3 months.
But something about it just didn't seem "right".
So I was back to exploring options.
The replacement had to fit a couple criteria: price and compatablity with current parts kit.
I had been eye-balling the 2009 Pake (pronounced "PA-KAY") track frame for a while.
The price was right. It hand what I needed (1" head tube and bottle bosses)
But the 2009 version proved to be a little hard to find in my size and for the 2010 versions Pake dropped the bottle bossed and went with a 1 1/8" head tube.
I didn't need a fork (wanted to stick to my not very old 1" track fork) and I wanted to carry a H2O bottle.
Then I found the 2009 Limited Edition Purple Pake, it was payday & I pulled the trigger:

On the first ride I knew I had made a good purchase.
The Pake rode great and felt more like my old Peugeot than the other frame I had been riding.
Plus using an actual track geometry frame (well semi-track geometry) with the track fork fixed the toe overlap problem I had had on both the Peugeot and the other frame.
I'm pleased.
Even if the Pake is one more step down the road of "Hipster-ism"
Besides everyone knows... "Purple is Fast"

*PEDALPHILE sticker provied by uNkY jOIns

On tap for the weekend

2010-09-17T10:13:00.004-05:00

Its finally here.
The KC Cup weekend at the Swope Park Trails
Cyclocross (Saturday) and cross country mountain bike (Sunday) action back to back over two days.
I rode the CX course last night and its a hoot. They make use of the new short track course that was installed for the Thursday Night Throwdown. So lots of single track to really please the CX roadie set.
I'll be doing the CX race this year. I'm considering racing twice.
I can do the Master's 30+ race at 11AM on my geared CX and then the single speed race @ 1PM on... well my single speed.
Hopefully I get further in than the first lap before I flat like I did last year.
I'm blowing off the MTN race on Sunday. I just haven't logged any time on my 29er this year. I was the same way last year but did the race. Ended up so frustrated that I blew my top and pitched the 29er into the woods. Not the best tactic.
I'm not much of a MTN racer anyway. I prefer to cruise along with frequent stops.
However, I should be attending the event as a spectator to cheer & heckle the racers. Maybe I'll even bring some beers.

That is of course that I'm alive after the Pub 'N Pedal 4 gets done with me Saturday night.

Straight from the FaceBook event page:
Free to all who come out and register to race!!!

Once again I should tell you that this is a free bicycle race photo scavenger hunt pub crawl. I will not ask any money from you but the final bar requires $2 per racer to be donated to the staff. This will allow you to drink from a FREE keg (as long as it has something in it).

• Registration begins at 7pm in the old OSCO Drug parking lot at Westport RD and Main St
• Race begins at 8pm
• Teams of 1-4 people
• You are not required to drink on this ride
• One digital camera per team to take photos of objects off the manifest

Need more info? Check out http://www.kcsprints.blogspot.com/ or http://www.candycranks.com/

So there is the planned weekend in a nut shell.
It fall, its gonna be a beautiful weekend, get out there and do something with it.

A little music for Monday morning

2010-09-13T10:18:00.003-05:00

I dig on The Black Keys.
Thanks to Tara for the video link.
Enjoy.

Goody Goody Gum Drops

2010-09-08T22:31:00.002-05:00

Local trails ala cx from Andy Wardman on Vimeo.

I found this a while back via AHTBM and love it so much I had to post it again.