2011 UCI World Cup

Still sorting through photos.
But here's an idea of it...

Kink BMX!

well....
Blogger doesn't want to upload sequence.
So this is all you get:

How high is your hop?

Kink started their East Coast Tour today.
Today was a good day.

Battenkill back ON!

Images from last year.
This year will be in the usual unplanned style.
Meaning there is no plan.
Cameras in bag.
Run around the course for eight hours.
See what I end up with.

Like taking a last minute flight to Vegas.
With $100 in your pocket.
And no place to stay.

Kink BMX

Maybe you never rode a 20",
if so, I'm sorry.

That feeling of being a little kid launching off of
sketchy homemade jumps,
THAT'S the feeling alot of us are still chasing.

So I get to help set up when the Kink team
hits the local shop in a couple of weeks.
What's cool about it?
It's been a couple years since I've built ramps,
and just as long since I've ridden a 20".
But there's the access I hope to get the following day,
with camera in hand.
And the satisfaction,
IF they like what we can come up with in a day.

I can still recall vividly,
the first bmx/freestyle demo I went to....
actually still have a couple pics scanned from it.

Boston

Boston for a few days.
Plenty of things on the 'to see & do' list,
but we'll see what I do.

Updates to follow.
Maybe.

Chasing Legends!

This is a MUST for this years Bike Month!
Question is,
can I get it into a theatre?

Murder of Couriers

Trailer for another: out of Vancouver

Courier Breed

Starting the,
well it's not a task,
but something I do for Bike Month.
This year I need THREE movies to show.
Or, a bunch of shorts.
I figure I may as well post them here.
Comment or suggest away!

Courier Breed - A Documentary on Boston's Bike Messengers from Brendan Coughlin on Vimeo.

Quests:

Seriously psyched on this: WTF
or Whisky Tango Foxtrot from Van Dessel.
A couple guys rock the Country Bob for single speed,
and I like the downtube on the older model,
and the arched top tube on the newer model.
So I thought I'ld look around their site,
and I don't know how I missed this:

Actually,
I know how I missed it.
I haven't seriously purchased or looked at a magazine
for a year or so.

It's something I've been working on for a while,
kind of like a 'self-improvement' thing.
I'll save that for another post.

But the Whiskky Tango Foxtrot?
Awesome!
Bright 1984 Haro Master green? Favorite!
And arched top tube? Sweet!
But even better is the split at the end of the top tube!
Back in, ohhhh that 94-98' time frame
I had a KHS Fleetwood.

It needed a little longer top tube,
but it was years ahead of it's time!
But I just didn't appreciate it, so I sold it
(and all of my mountain bikes and tools)
when we bought the house.

(sigh)

I even really, REALLY, miss the mountain bikes.
In such a small town,
I figured I'ld see someone on one,
and offer to by it back. But nothing.
Anyways.... it's easy to get rambling on that one too!

But the WTF could easily be a monster cross,
or a 29er.
Better put it on the back burner for now!

it's NOT parkour!

TRIALS!
plus some bmx skills.

Makes you want to set up another bike,
any reason to have another bike, right?

Well worth the time though!

The Fat Bastard:

Posting away...

The latest post I pulled out for the TU.
It has a particular rehashed stench to it...
Sorry.

Fall in love again...

"hey, we do a late night group ride. wanna come?"

"uhhh, sure!"

STOP.
Right there, I need to learn to ask more questions.
Those questions that you ask yourself a half hour before
you head out the door.
There are no expectations. Which is good.
But there is no info. either!
And that is my fault.

I don't want to sound like some dork.
Too many questions might get an UN-invite!

So I split my gear into:
light & quick bare essentials.
and
messenger bag (everything including the camera).

I had no idea.
The worst case on one end:
off season roadies, out for a late night hammer sesh.
Which means I'll get dropped in a couple of miles,
and solo my way home.

or the other worst scenario:
the super casual urban ride. Which means you won't even
warm up (an issue when it's freezing out).



Sometimes I just luck out!



There was casual.
There were beer breaks.
A quick pace.
Lots of characters.
Familiar faces.
And mud.


Equate it to:
a Cat. 4 late night cyclocross race
through unknown trails
without enough lights.

Simply awesome.!

That's what riding is about, FUN!
No one gets dropped.
If someone flats, then it's time to break out the beers,
and share some stories.



I need to loosen up sometimes.
And as they say
just "enjoy the ride".

things bike related

Best costume for a 'cross race!

because it's a bike blog...
isn't it?
One of my past Times Union posts:Can't get there from here.
Nothing big, just putting them out there.
Or you can just click along to the right....

Getting back to four races worth of photos,
to sort & post to flickr... sorry guys, and girls.

Kirkland on flickr!

Flickr has finally been updated.
It just takes an entire day to edit and post photos.
But Kirkland is now done,
the non-bike stuff has been moved,
and I'll update the last year of bike related stuff soon,
I promise.
And I'll get back to posting on a regular basis.
Click & Enjoy!

New Times Union post...

Latest Times Union post is.....here.
Comment away, or not.
I'm going to bed and
cannot participate in this electronic merry-go-round anymore.
I will be biked up this week though!

back on the path

well... we don't have any bike paths.

But it looks like I'm gonna be able to put alot of crap
behind me.
The trip helped sort some things out.
Because I had to put my head around bigger things.
Such as meeting my birth father for the first time.
And the big surprise?
Meeting my other half-sister.
But "sister" is the correct title.
My family keeps growing and growing,
and it's awesome.

I spent WAY too much time driving around.
To the point I can't stand cars, again.
So that's good.
I also spent time in a totally bike friendly city,
and wasn't cycling. That MAKES you want to ride.
So I'm back home, and back to the drawing board.
Trying to figure out what my new bike will be.

It's mind numbing going through catalogs looking for parts,
measuring & remeasuring,
writting down part numbers.
I tried to do it before I flew out,
and after a couple of hours,
threw the paper away and pondered buying a car.

It's easy to build your dream bike,
over a couple of months,
as you have a regular rider.

But to try and piece together your dream rig out of a catalog,
with out being able to handle the parts,
double check the overall fit & look?
Killing me here.

So, it'll be a compromise.
Start with a base,
and assume there's gonna be a few changes (or a lot).
I know what I love,
and I do considered myself...

SAVED BY BIKE

Being Elsewhere

NEW POST!
Kind of a summary of my trip to the Northwest,
really far Northwest.

Click and enjoy.
And thanks for stopping in.
I'm still amazed anyone even reads this blog....
or dumbfounded.

Either way, THANKS!

"doucheclamation point"

Again, BikesnobNYC calls it as it is in yesterday's post.
I need to make more of an effort to read through
the blogs out there.

"Leather accessories are truly the
"doucheclamation point"
at the end of your lifestyle."

- classic!

Cycle across USA

So,
outside of work the other day I run into
these guys:

Sometimes it's just easier to walk on by,
not step out of the comfort zone and talk to someone.
But the bike was a Dawes, a UK brand you don't see often.
And there was a strong accent.
So I assumed they were doing some Montreal/NYC trip,
and around here - you'll probably need some directions.
So out of the comfort zone we go.

Here you have Ryan and Paul,
from Ireland, actually one is from the Rochester area,
but I'm assuming came from Ireland.
They decided to ride across the US
and raise money for an Irish cancer foundation,
and stopped into town to pick up a charger
and handlebar mounts for their GPS.

What was a change was there was no over calculation
of routes and dates and times,
they were just going to enjoy the ride.

I walked away thinking
I need to do that.
You need to get out there and live life, each day.
Ahhhh. I sound like some hippy bro',
but why slave away at a job to squirrel away some money,
so eventually you can retire,
THEN you go to Flordia to 'enjoy' life at seventy?

Riding my bike across the US,
adding that to my to do list.
Sooner than later.

To follow along goHERE.
Donate, comment, or offer a place to stay along the way! Thanks!