alkaline

Here we go. Day 2 The crit stage. We organized at the old shop parking lot at about 9PM. There were a few more people than the first night, so everybody was pretty happy about the turnout. We hung around drinking a couple of beers and talking until it was time to cruise to the crit course. The course was pretty small this time around. Through a neighborhood around eight or nine blocks long. There was a slight uphill in the begining of the lap and some knarly potholes in the middle. There were also a couple of really good turns. Six laps was the call, first one done wins. Go! After the first turn there was a group of people sitting on the roof of a house cheering us on. I don't know if they knew any of us, or if they were just hanging out on their roof and noticed us riding by a bunch of times. I was all the way in the back (of course), but having a blast fighting it out for last with one other guy. On the last lap I sprinted to the finish and beat him by about half a wheel. "One more lap to go!" somebody says, so we keep going ... reluctantly. Another sprint finish, but this time I lose and get my shoe sucked under my pedal in the last turn (I wear Vans slip-ons and have flat pedals on that bike). Oh well. I'm still having a blast. The non-racing class and the grrls race their crit next. Two people throw up during that race, which narrows down the field real fast. On the way back to the old shop, all the fixie guys give us a show going down this huge hill. Some of it was good, but one guy couldn't stop and almost got nailed by the cross traffic at the bottom. We finished the night with more beer and lots of talk. Tomorrow is the long climbing stage, and it's gonna be hard.

I don't want to spoil it or anything, but of all the people that are actually racing the race, I'm in last (that's the "last place" flag that I'm holding ... which seems fitting for me since they all call me blackbeard anyways). Updates coming when I get home from work.

Me just before the Giro d'Ghetto on the "Slice of Miami" (my commuter) Giro d'Ghetto, Day 1 The Giro d'Ghetto is a six day stage alleycat race organized by my friend Brian. Tonight was day one. Flats, flats, flats. Todays stage started at the old shop at 8PM. Since this was the first day, everyone showed up and registered. Five dollars were put in, and numbers and spoke cards were given out. We were all told that today would be a "mountain time trial." we were to all ride as a group through town to the back side of Mount Bonnell. There was a flat before we even left the parking lot. Once we got under way, things went fairly smooth. I got a little bit of a late start from the group, so I spent the first ten minutes of the "cruise" at a full sprint (which on my bike is not exactly what you would call fast). Once I caught up, we continued to cruise north through town until we turned onto 2222 (which isn't a highway, but with the speed of traffic, it may as well be). Then it was an all out free for all through traffic and up the hills (keep in mind that it's dark while all this is going on). We got to the actual start point and rounded everybody up. There had been at least two flats on the way there, so we had to wait for a couple of people. After we had everyone all together we got started. One rider left every 30 seconds up a mile and a half hill. I took off and started well, but I got passed by three people on the last hill. The actual racing wasn't the fun part, so I'll skip all that. At the top, I waited with all the others to finish. My friend Kris came flying across the line on his Xtracycle and pulled a thirty foot skid that ended with his back tire blowing out. Then the party began. Brews and buds. We hung out for a while and made the nice cruise home. Tomorrow is the crit stage. Updates coming.

i got a ticket in my truck the other night. i quit (diving). the commuter is getting all decked out next week. i might order an xtra cycle.

special edition joker graphics on my ride. count me in. post up if anybody has done any cool paint jobs on their bikes.

check out lancey pants' fresh new futura one-off tt bike http://www.nike.com/nikecycling/index_flash.html

one for the money ... 5200 fixed gear. before you ask about the choice of parts, keep in mind that the only thing i paid for was the rear wheel. white industries eno eccentric rear hub. more bikes to come. including my fixed surly 1x1 and my head racing bar bike. i fanally had to crack down and get rid of a bunch of bikes. the ones that i have left, though are the ones that are the most fun. and that's what it's all about.

Pictures of the new fleet coming soon. Alkaline is back online.

i'm setting up a cross bike soon. any recommendations on gearing and general setup would be welcomed.

nice, tess. it looks like a rocky bmx track. were there any technical sections? i didn't get to see any of the bike racing. i'm doing a 24 hour race this weekend. i'm part of a 5 person team, and we're all racing on single speeds. should be fun. i'll have the full report next week. maybe pictures too.

those damn bracelets. that's all people come into my shop for. every time the phone rings it's, "do you have any of those lance bracelets?" i don't even let them finish anymore. i just say, "yup, but you better hurry." even though we got 10000 on tuesday. hahaha. congrats, cinnamon. my new lust: http://www.kellybike.com/2nd_knobbyx1.html i've been commuting to work everyday for a while now. i'm really getting into it. i think i'm going to start touring too. anybody have any experience with that?

they use a slightly different taper, so i wouldn't suggest it.

i got a chance to play with the '04 Dura-Ace yesterday. it's oh so nice. it shifts so well. and the cranks ... look out. i couldn't take it outside because it was raining, but rest assured i'll be riding it in the next couple of days.

from PinkBike.com In an effort to appeal to today's youth, the IOC announced today that BMX will be added to the program for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The BMX event will replace two track cycling events, yet to be determined. The UCI will study to find which 2 track events are the least popular before making the decision as to which events will be pulled. IOC president Jacques Rogge called it a "new, spectacular event." "We believe that this introduction will definitely enhance the Olympic program," he said. hmmmm.

parts are all there, i just have to put it back together. i might be getting a new fork, so there may be suspension on it too. as far as the t-shirts, do i ever wear anything other than black or grey these days? i got the entire birthday weekend off, so i'll see you then. maybe you can come paint the bithday wall with me.

nic sucks, are you some kind of geeky bike mechanic or something. You sound like a big nerd to me ... with your unicycle and purple car. Hahahaha. Just joshin'. Are you ever gonna call me or what? When are you getting down here? Maybe I'll make you a t-shirt for (y)our birthday.

Hollah!!! So it's been a while. Things have been crazy like nothing else. My computer has been being repaired for like a month now. My wife downloaded some virus or something, so I've barely been online. I've found other things to take up my time though. I got a promotion at work. I'm now Alkaline - Service Manager. All that really means is that I work too much and don't ride enough. I do get Sundays off, so I ride about once a week. I built a new rear wheel for the fixed gear. I used a Surly hub with this 700c disc-only rim from Alex. Black spokes, black nipples, black hub, a black rim with no braking surface and a Bontrager Race X Lite tire (black of course). It looks like it should be on a Stealth Bomber or something. I'll put a picture of it once I get my computer back. Nic sucks also got me one of those cool Cinelli Frog stems. That stem looks so good. I cant wait to build up the matching front wheel and paint the frame. It's going to be rad. It sounds like everyone is doing well. Nice race reports, guys. I'm about to start a full-on training regime in the next week or so with two goals in mind. I plan on riding the Great Divide Trail next summer (with my friend who just moved up to Alaska to be a cycling tour guide) and I want to do an endurance race (12 or 24 hour) solo by the end of the year. I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to do the latter, but I'm going to do what I can. One last thing. Does anybody read bike magazines? I may be the only geek here, but I get them free at work. Anyways, there is a really great pictorial in the new BIKE magazine featuring "dead" bikes from all over Philly. Check it out if you get a chance. I was impressed with it, as I also take pictures of bikes in that condition when I get a chance. I've got some of those that I'll put up too. Anyways, hats off to the two guys that did that spread.

Shit, one more thing. Does anybody know of any tax laws that would allow me to write off my bike and/or gear? Maybe something under alternative transportation exceptions. Any help/links would be much appreciated.

Also ... the North Shore is #1 on the list of dream riding vacations. I was in Vancouver last summer for my honeymoon, but I didn't get any riding in.

Nothing came up. Just email the picture to me. It's funny that you used that line, as Ris was just watching that movie the other night, and I'm watching The Bourne Identity right now. Matt Damon, like whoa! Urban riding is fun. I got my new bike (late christmas present) just the other day, and I had better luck on the ledges and jumps that night. Sadly, the engine to my car threw a piston while I was on the way to Austin to ride yesterday. There is a hole in my engine the size of a cantelope. Now I have to buy a new engine. Looks like I'll be riding a lot more now. I think it's time to invest in some of those GoreTex cables.

Well, well ... it's been a while. Here's some input. R. Heydrich ... Suck it up, dude. Just grab a handful of chain and put it back on. If you're riding a bike with gears, it should take two fingers at most. Now I can understand if you are riding to an interview or a date and you don't want to get dirty, but otherwise, wipe that grease off on your pants/shorts. The big question is why did your chain fall off in the first place? Maybe you need to adjust those limit screws and keep that chain clean. Btw, shifting slowly and/or wet wipes are also good solutions. Steve ... Looks are good. I've also been hearing good things about the new Dura Ace pedals and the new Time Impacts. Egg beaters are okay, but the cleats wear kind of fast, and if anything hits the bottom-side hard enough (say you catch the pedal in a turn for some reason) it will automatically clip you out due to the design. theblindpoet ... You're "not really into mountain biking," but you plunked down the cash for a bike with a SID fork and what looks like a full '03 XTR groupo (minus the wheels)? Interesting. Probably the only way you are going to shave weight off that thing is if you take all the parts off and put them on a better frame. Or you could sell it and get a road bike. As for me, things are good here. I'm working a lot, but it has paid off. I was offered a promotion a couple of days ago. the title of "service manager" will soon go on my business card. I'm also about a week away from getting my new mountain bike. It seems to rain on all my days off lately though, so I don't know when I'll actually get to ride it. I had to ride urban in the rain last night. It didn't really matter that it was raining though after I fell into this fountain that I was attempting to jump. Good times.

Joker, check your email.

Joker ... nice drawing. I like it. As far as your cranks go, you could go the Dura Ace route, or you could put an LX mountain crank (I think that would look cooler) on there. Either way, you'll need a new bottom bracket, as the Pista has a square-tapper bb. D'lush ... Sorry you guys couldn't make it. It's probably just as well, because they made me work all weekend anyways. Nic sucks and I went to the trick skid comp and were there for the start of the Winter Solcitice alley cat, but that's about it. I heard that the SF cutters got all drunk and crazy and started throwing their bikes around and breaking shit on Saturday. I wish I could have seen that. nic sucks ... fuck you, man! You know you thought my shit was the bomb. You're just jealous. Hahahahaha. See you tomorrow. So I think I'm going to race in two upcoming 12 hour races ... solo. We'll see how things go.

Nice race reports, guys. Sounds like fun. I got my Thomson seatpost and stem yesterday. Holy crap, they look good. I'm not putting the stem on until I get my carbon bars on Monday, but my bike is starting to look really nice.

bump nic sucks said it was snowing where he's at a few days ago. Crazy! Thunderstorms are in my fortcast. Time to overhaul the bikes. NAC3 is coming up soon. From what I'm hearing around town, it's gonna be cool. Every body that enters is getting a cowboy hat with a chain around the headband ... so I'm told. For those of you coming (Devilush and crew?), hit my email so we can hook up. whyihatetexas@hotmail.com