Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

single speed world championships part 3


SSWC08 is in the books. I finished too far back for anybody to really give a shit but I may have had the most fun of anybody out there. Between doing the whole race in my underwear and shotgunning beers with a pink rabbit it was a damn fine time on an amazing course. I got to hang out with some good old friends and made some new ones. It was especially nice of Arizona Highway Patrol to search my truck for me to make sure i didn't have any drugs and then write me a whole bunch of tickets.
thanks to Ansel Adams over at carsonblume.com for capturing some great images of me and the rest of the race.
It was also pretty cool to meet fellow drunkcyclist Nate from handlebarsandwich.com
he is good people, check out his site
Next up is the BLK13 alleycat in Rochester, NY on Sunday starting at 8pm at Cobbs Hill tennis courts. The last one was off the hook and if you are anywhere within driving distance of this you should show up

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Single Speed World Championships part 2

So the second day is in the books. I got an early start on the day and went and pre-rode the course most of the afternoon. This should be named the World Championships of hike-a-bike because there are so many retarded steep sections that you really have no choice but to get off and push. The course really has no flow to it at all, but the downhills are screaming fast and would be a pretty tough downhill run by themselves. So that more than makes up for the bullshit in my book. When I'm out on course i run into Dan, he is an old friend of mine from Park Ave bikes in Rochester and I haven't ridden with him in probably 10 years. He was riding for these guys from Pereira Cycles(http://www.pereiracycles.com/) and they are really great people and you shoudl check them out. Thanks for the BBQ guys!!
Much respect to the race organizers that kept the whole scene fueled with free beers and wine in kiddie pools filled with ice over the whole day! Once the pre riding was over everybody moved to the local bowling alley where the next years location was to be determined in an intense bowling tournament. I always prefer a good game of foot down but the bowling was pretty cool and the locals were less than thrilled to have a few hundred dirty single speeders in their alley. The word on the street is that Durango is the place to be next year about this time, but you didn't hear it from me. The party has since moved back to the hotel where some Scottish kids are trying to set everything on fire. I support that.
Tomorrow is going to be a brutal slog through the hills of northern California and it is going to be amazing. Go ride.

Friday, August 22, 2008

single speed world championships. part 1

i started the journey to single speed world championships (http://www.sswc08.com) by making the 13 hour drive from Tempe, AZ to a friend's house in Santa Cruz, CA where he decided to try and tear my legs off on a mountain bike ride through the Experimental Forest. If you are ever in Santa Cruz I suggest bringing, borrowing, or stealing a bike to ride these trails. Woods for miles and miles with views of the ocean and what seemed like never ending downhill. runs. The picture above is where Corey says he saw Big Foot.
Today I woke up with sore legs and a sore head and left the hospitality of Corey and his wife to make the drive through San Fran up to Napa. I pulled into the hotel and it is completely filled with single speeders. Beer/wine runs have been made and the local bail bond number is in my phone. The sun is going down, and we all know what happens when the sun goes down.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

in the beginning....


man,.. i used to get so psyched when I would here the 'In The Beginning....' song on Motley Crues' second album. It prepared you perfectly for what was to come next, which was the satanic blasting (albeit, the SunSet Strip glam rock version of satanic blasting) thrown down your face by a bunch of dudes dressed up as ugly girls. Fuckin' Aye, I loved the 80's. Such a completely retarded time in history. I had to be around 8 and didn't know any better, but shit.....nobody did! time and place. If you were 8 then and from the shit-sandwhich central known as Charlotte, New York, then you know what i mean. Feathered mullets aplenty, mesh halfshirts and short 'nut-revealing' shorts were the uniform, atari was the game program, and Ozzy ruled.
times are different now. for better and worse. I'm not 8 anymore, which is fine. At 31, I can afford to travel to costa rica with 6 other friends and surf our balls off for 7 straight days and live life the way it should be lived- enjoying every second. Life should be on HIGH as often as you can handle it...simply because life on LOW fucking licks.
we are the black 13.