bikecentric

Belated Bootlegger's Bliss Beta...

2009-11-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, the first matter of business comes in the form of an apology to my friends and drinking buddies in the biking community for my self-imposed exile of late, details of which shall remain nebulous, at least for now. Suffice it to say I checked out for a bit and now I’m back. Sort of. I mean, as far as fat-tire rides are concerned, I still haven’t put ass to saddle since SSWC 09 in September (and only a few times before that this year), but that dearth of dirt miles didn’t seem to have much impact on my ability to muddle along with the rest of the pack in Durango. Odd, yes, but I’ll take it.

On to the important stuff. The 4th Annual Bootlegger's Bliss will occur on Satyrday, November 14th, of this very year. Details such as time and location will be revealed shortly via email to all attendees of previous years' events.

For now, and especially for the uniniated, a maniblissto of sorts, to wit:

The history of all hitherto existing cycling events is the history of competitive struggles. Not so with the Bliss.

The Bootlegger's Bliss is a social event, designed to bring together people who share (or are simply curious about) two seemingly disparate passions: homebrewing and mountain biking.

The Bliss is not a race. It does not suffer elitist competition. It begets neither boasting nor bloviation. There are no medals, no podiums, no bragging rights, no prizes. No one's "in it to win it," as the dreadful cliché goes. No one trains for the Bliss. There are no "winners." Or, more precisely, everyone is a winner.

The Bliss is not a drinking contest. It does not engender wanton drunkenness. It is a tasting, and if you don't know the difference between a tasting and a drinking contest, the Bliss is not for you.

The Bliss is about fun for fun's sake. It is the arrowhead forged in the smithy of the soul, honed in secret, dipped in curare, then trained on the heart of the ogre Boordumb. The lifeblood of the Bliss is participation. There are no spectators; everyone is equally a "criminal" and delights in it. Everyone rides, everyone tastes. Participants are encouraged to front their very best brew, in keeping with the concept of the potlatch, whereby prestige is gained not by amassing coveted property like some plutocratic piggy, but by giving it away.

Leave your money at home. The Bliss is not about commerce—quite the opposite, actually. Aside from the homebrew and homecooking you're asked to bring and share, the Bliss is a free event, generously and officially sponsored by Absolutely No One®. That's the point. From a philosophical perspective, the Bliss was conceived as a small step outside of commerce—a tick in the matted hide of mass-production—and as an appreciation of highly personal craftwork against the backdrop of some sweet singletrack. It's a celebration of use value, that immeasurable quality that fills the soul with a sort of natural, ineffable satisfaction too seldom felt in the cold void, the funereal absence, the blanched banality that clings to exchange value like stench to carrion.

As Raoul Vaneigem put it, "We have a world of pleasures to win, and nothing to lose but boredom."

Frederick Watershed Trail Work

2009-10-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

Frederick Watershed Trail Work
Originally uploaded by sso

Trail work. Sunday. Frederick Watershed. 9am. Cool news to be announced on site. Grand opening of the New Blue. More info here.

Bicycle Film Festival DC

2009-10-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/?p=washington

WoooHoooHoooothud

2009-10-19T06:14:00.001-07:00

That's gonna leave a mark:

White-knuckle Weekend*...

2009-10-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Rained out and rescheduled! Details here. (Thanks to riderx for the scoop.)
Rob Harrington, the Leesburg Baker's Dozen race promoter, has come up with a new event, a two-day stage race called "Speed Freaks." Some time back, Rob requisitioned me as the artist for the event, and after dicking around (an art term) forever with a variety of concepts, I settled on the above image as my meager contribution. Simple, straightforward, and anything but elegant. This graphic will find its way onto some very nice long-sleeve jerseys as part of the race shwag and, hopefully, onto the backs of many of the readers of this blog.

If you're interested in doing the race, sign up by October 14th (that's tomorrow!) to save $15 off the race price.

Looks like a great opportunity to get in one more dirt race before the end of racing season. Check it out.

*Phrase brazenly stolen from the song "Sea Foam Green" by Jawbreaker.

The Bike Project

2009-10-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

oct 8 025
Originally uploaded by beckyb3

Art. Words. Film. All about bikes. It's FREE. You should go. It opened today in Columbia, MD. It runs until Nov. 15th. Full info here

Bike 180: Day 161

2009-10-02T04:50:00.001-07:00

Bike 180: Day 161
Originally uploaded by bundokbiker

It's official now. I'm a polo dork. Got the disc cover on front to prevent broken spokes. It didn't help my game though. I fell twice and landed on the end of my bar; once mid-thigh and once on my nipple. I can't decide which hurts more this morning.

"Sort of dumb and super hip"

2009-09-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post (and Urban Outfitters) discover fixed-gear bikes

.

Howe Intense...

2009-09-19T22:19:00.001-07:00

Hammer-ons and pull-offs: Steve Howe of Yes fame bends some serious strings...a classic that still holds up so well.

Ready, Steady, Go

2009-09-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Seven hours will pass before my Pops picks up Jo, me, Chester, and Quiring and drops the lot of us off at the airport. From there we'll go to Albuquerque to Santa Fe to Durango for the SSWC. Along the way there will be riding interruptions - middle desert - which I haven't done in like, forever. Vast expanses of dirt, cacti, but most importantly, actual mountains.

Tangentially, many have asked, "How're you feeling?" Much better, thanks. Doc says "Cut down on the fried foods and cholesterol, or it's the statins for you!" I hate taking meds. If I start statins, it'll be like, forever. I'll try my best.

Since I last wrote, I've become hooked on something new: bike polo. I've even given up totally beautiful riding days to instead go down to the rink to wack the street hockey ball around with a chopped ski pole topped with a piece of plastic tubing. So fun, sprinting up and down the walled court, twisting/contorting your body to snag and control the ball, shuffle it forward, then take a swing, only to miss. No problem, repeat again and again until you finally get it in, or the other team scores their five goals.

So if you'll be in Santa Fe in the next few days or in Durango this weekend, look for a group of a striped dozen-ish. We'll be the ones laughing ours arse off, hooting and hollering, and altogether having a good time. Say hi. I'll be the one hacking in the back :)

Real Reality

2009-08-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

I wake up yesterday morning with a tight chest. I go to work with earlier mentioned tight chest, when about an hour and a half later, my tight chest turns into a feeling where someone just reached into my chest and is squeezing my heart with all their might for about ten seconds. I set up an appt with my family doc who is across town. I get there, the nurse looks me over, then gives me an EKG. Two minutes later, they are hooking me up to an oxygen machine and are calling 911. They say my EKG looks abnormal and the oxygen absorption rate is ~70% when it should be 98-100%.

I'm whisked away to the nearest hospital via ambulance, less than 10 minutes away, and I'm met by a team of doctors and nurses. They get me inside, start hooking me up to machines, and tell me I'm having a heart attack!!! They're double-checking, but they want to know how to proceed just in case and depending on the severity: taking pills, open-heart surgery, or angioplasty. Doc says he'd recommend doing #3 if I was his brother.

It's too much. I, 37-years old, regular exerciser, but so-so eater, am having a heart attack! Doesn't the biking, at least every other day, count for nothing? Oh yeah, there's the little family history thing. My dad's dad died of a heart attack in his forties (I think) and at least three of my dad's bros have died of heart-related conditions. My dad has had a quadruple bypass, and here I am, still eating fried chicken, greasy fries and burgers with regular abandon. No worries, methinks, since I bike so much. Well, reality don't much care.

I'm rushed to another lab upstairs. They need to shave my nethers, make a cut, and stick a catheter up the hole to go straight to my heart and dye it so they can do more scans. It's surreal, the whole time never less than six people in the ER and now the cardio-scan room (or whatever they call it) are running around, explaining things, and telling me that time is of the essence. I'm freaked, but I go with the flow. They determine that I'm not having an outright heart attack, but they aren't sure what's going on, which means...more big machines and more testing.

They bring me upstairs to my room in the Cardio Unit, and start poking me with all sorts of needles to draw blood. I let them know ahead of time that there are two things that scare me more in the world than anything else: public speaking and needles and that I've even fainted at the latter a few times. It's then they discover that everytime they prick me with a needle to draw blood, my heart rate drops way below "normal", which worries them. They eventually are able to get a few vials of my plasma.

Meanwhile, the cut above my groin is really sore, but I can't move that leg for eight hours. They put a collagen plug in the hole, and if I move funny, it can come out, and it being an artery, I can bleed out. Greaaaaat.

I explain to these cardio nurses that I bike a lot. They realize that may the reason that my heart rate is registering so low. (I later discovered that I scared my night nurse when she peeked in and my heart rate was down to 34 bpm.) My blood pressure seemingly appears too low, but with the knowledge of the "athleticism", they realize that it's really good also, which begs them to ask, "What are you doing here?" They're used to seeing much wider patients, meaning, well, you know what I mean.

I'm kept overnight for observation and more testing. This morning, I'm given a heart sonogram. Good. Clean. Then later, I'm given a VQ scan, which basically meant inhaling and getting injected by radioactive dye to see if I have a blood clot in my lungs. Uh-uh. Nada. Finally, my fourth EKG in two days. Same ol' same ol', i.e., normal.

The cardiologists and other types of docs look at all the test results, and they can't explain my chest pain. I have a little plaque around my heart but nothing that should have prompted a heart attack. My bad cholesterol levels are a little high, and they recommend a heart-healthy, low-fat diet. 'Nuff said, done. They conclude that it might've been acid reflux, but I need to check back next week and three weeks from now.

I'm out of the hospital and back at home now. I'm sore from needles, not being able to move my leg for eight hours, and the cut they gave me above my groin. Selfishly, I'm glad it's supposed to rain and stay hot for the next week so I can't be tempted to get on the bike, which I need to do for at least three days.

Three lessons learned:

Fried chicken ain't the greatest, after all.
Jo, my omnipresent wife, is my rock.
I'm lucky to be alive.

-rickyd

Jesus f*cking Christ what is wrong with people?

2009-07-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

"Firefighter allegedly shoots cyclist in head to teach him not to ride on a busy street"

This guys is a dick. ~~Allegedly~~.

And to think, Asheville NC was on my list of "Potentially cool places that I might want to live". May have to reassess that.

Bee Happy

2009-07-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

My buddy Kathy, the schoolteacher, had an anecdote from a couple of days ago:

I know you all are jealous about me being off for the summer so I thought I'd give you a quick glimpse into my daily activities. I'll share today with you...

Drank coffee and did crossword puzzle for an hour

Went to Wakefield to ride -- best thing about summer is being able to ride during the day

Lube chain, check tires, get on bike

Go into the Bowl

Rippin it up

Something pinches my neck

Grab a bee from my neck

It hurts but I just got there

Decide not to be a whimp and keep riding

Fingers start tingling

Neck hurts but keep riding

Go to the racecourse

Clothes are itchy

Face feels fat

Lips are tingling

Helmet feels too tight

Decide to go back to car

See blotches all over my body

Feel light headed

See guy in parking lot and ask him what I should do

He offers to call 911

I refuse. It's only a bee!

Leave and go to 7-11 for Benadryl.

As I'm sprawled over the counter, lady can't figure how much it costs

Throw a ten at the lady and ask the guy behind me call 911

Slump to the floor

Firefighters and EMTs come

Am totally embarrassed

They tell me I'm going to the hospital

I say I don't want to

They ask why I called 911 then

Get in ambulance and go to hospital

Get IV and a bunch of other stuff injected in me

Lindsay comes

Get released four hours later

Now have to carry an EpiPen

Feel like an IDIOT

I hope you guys aren't too jealous with all of the fun I have during the day! :)

Artistic rendering. May or may not bee actual size.

DC peeps: Metro seeks cyclists' input

2009-07-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

http://wtop.com/?nid=596&sid=1720944

Metro to hold bike access workshop
July 19, 2009 - 3:57pm

WASHINGTON (AP) - If you walk or ride a bike to your Metro stop, the transit agency wants to hear from you.

Metro planners are in the midst of a study to evaluate demand from pedestrians and cyclists and access to stations for those who walk or ride bikes.

Metro says that between 2002 and 2007, the number of cyclists biking to rail stations during the morning rush hour increased 60 percent, to a daily total of more than 1,500. That number is expected to keep rising. The agency has identified $45 million in bicycle and pedestrian improvements it would like to implement before 2020. Likely upgrades include new bicycle cages and double-deck parking for bikes.

Metro will hold a workshop starting 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at its headquarters at 600 5th St., Northwest. Anyone interested in providing input is encouraged to attend.

2009-07-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have been suffering from a little East-Coast withdrawal. In particular I enjoyed the ride reports from 12 hours of Lodi and of course I miss all the East Coast riders I used to try and chase like I was a rabid dog...

So I am excited tonight to have booked my flight for SSWC09. I cannot wait to see some old friends again and chase some of you down. I also signed up for half of 24-9, the Wisconsin leg of the 24hour endurance series. My goal is to get 100 fixie miles in the 12 hours. Wish me luck?

Chocolate Factory

2009-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

So I got to go to TREK land today. I have been hoping to go for a long-time. It is just up the road from me in Waterloo Wisconsin, about an hours drive or so away. I was not sure what to expect. I guess I don’t really appreciate the whole Lance thing and somehow I still think of the TREK of the ‘90s making worthy but boring bikes (I lived with a guy who got to review and then keep a 930 back in the day, perhaps 95. It was really very nice, but so understated that I cold not imagine who would buy it.) Or bikes on the edge of good taste and usefulness… (Y-bike, Y-foil and early suspension designs that are hard to imagine being a good idea). Remember these?

Besides what kind of mountain bikes can get designed and made in flat Wisconsin? Without some world class trails to test and develop on how can a company make world class bikes?

So driving up to TREK and Waterloo is a tiny town and the TREK building is understated. You would not know it was “that TREK” without seeing cars with lots of bike stickers and racks in the lot. We entered in a side door and immediately there is a bike room. But the kind of bike room I have not seen the likes of before. Lots of Madones and full suspension bikes a Burley tandem, lots of hotness and lots of bikes that look well used. The bike room has an area for bike photography. Today seemed to be the day to photograph the pink girls bikes replete with handlebar streamers. My buddy picks up a prototype full suspension 29er (Damn! It is lighter than my fixie ferrous) to ride for the day. I was allowed a teaser pic:

We sign the disclaimer and get the wristbands and ride off the short distance to the trailhead.

The fixie MTB is a dog on the road, spinning along and getting no-where. We get to the trails and are greeted by a nice looking four-cross track complete with big jumps and massive berms to rail. Luckily everything is roll-able and it is great fun to crawl down safely. I did wonder what it would be like to watch the Outlaw hit some of the doubles.

I guess I have never ridden private trails before and did not know what to expect. A lot of local trails here are pretty dumbed down and not much of a challenge, these were not those kind of trails. As soon as we start we a re greeted by a couple of big rock piles and tight tricky turns. “Nice!” and my buddy replies “I did that!”. This is new trail and still a bit rough and lumpy in spots, not totally ridden in yet, but it is full of little humps perfectly suited for getting mini-air. I am a wheels on the ground kind of rider, but it was so much fun flowing along and watching the rest of our group style it up. As we get further into the trails there begin a series of wooden -obstacles , rock piles and jumps. I was not feeling brave today. I rode a couple of the easy ladders and enjoyed mopping up some rock sections that reminded me of the East-Coast loveliness I miss so much. These trails are some of the most fun I have ridden and could have supplied a challenge for any rider and bike. We rode for a couple of hours or so and did most of the loops twice, so there is definitely not endless single-track, but what there is just awesome. No wonder the mountain bikes are now world-beaters.

We head back to TREK and while some of our party get a shower in TREKS locker rooms (complete with TREK shower curtains), I get a mini tour of some of the facility. What is immediately striking is there are bikes everywhere, all kind of bikes wherever you look. It is amazing the diversity and coolness of it all. Four all XTR carbon full suspension wonders are stacked in the wall of one corridor, head past the paint room and there are some Madones with flashy custom paint jobs. From peoples work-stations you can tell the employees love bikes. I see lots of cool stuff everywhere I look. A carbon fibre bottom bracket shell desk organizer…. A picture of a bike with “my other bike is your mom stenciled on the down-tube. A southpaw fixie with narrow bars….. You get the idea?

Heading back by the paint room I noticed a bunch frames for paint, 2010 madones in there nude glory. I pick one up and it is lighter than any fork I have ever owned. One of those as a fixie might be some fun. Then I spot a rack of my favorite welded on site product, the Ferrous. I really like mine and I am glad it was made here by someone local.

I think I have become a TREK fan. I’ll cheer for Lance on the tape-delayed col de tourmalet on the T.V. in a few minutes.

Ricky's new bike

2009-06-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

... Jones Space Frames are so 2009, for 2010 Ricky will be proudly riding a bike from his Alma Mater... tres chic Ricky, tres chic

How far?

2009-06-18T18:49:00.001-07:00

How far do you go? I don't mean how far you go to end up with 200lbs of drugs: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifMoaUbKGuxS55TAJ11h1lZ8f4nAD98TB57O0

I mean how far can you ride? Some crazies do the C&O canal in a day and rack up 180 miles or so. I'd like to give it a shot, but the stars never aligned for me. I did do 130 miles of it one day, but it rained so hard for the last four hours that I got sand in my shorts and mangina and it has taken me a while to remember the experience fondly.

This weekend I did get my best two day total. I am pretty sure of this because whenever I have done a century previously the next day I have sat around and "recovered". So I thought it sounded like a good idea to do TOMRV. http://www.qcbc.org/tomrv/route.html Its 106 miles day one and 89 miles day 2. I rode the fixie:

But its all I have. I thought I was making things hard for myself, but one guy was riding on some sort of BMX without a saddle or seatpost.

The first day was fun, I tried to take it easy and we even had a beer stop in Galena.

Surprisingly I felt great the second day. Well I felt great for 50 miles or so attacking the climbs and passing other riders like they were standing still. The last 30 were more of a struggle. I couldn't seem to ride quicker than really very slow. One of my buddys caught me and his computer (which is always over optimistic) said 14 miles an hour. It was fun in a way being humbled by riders who if you looked at them you would really not imagine then making 200 miles a weekend (or possibly a year)

So another challenge ride crossed off. I wonder what the next challenge will be? I better get some miles and fitness before SSWC09.....

Sloppy Seconds...

2009-06-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

We done got 'er done again: Team Fixed Not Broken takes 2nd Place in the Single/Rigid Open category at the 2009 24 Hours of Big Bear. Oh, and 1st Place in the chimerical Fixed/Rigid Open category.

And you thought rain was bad?

2009-06-13T15:41:00.001-07:00

Try this on for size....

No folks, you're not seeing things that's 104*. Where's that baby oil?

Hans Rey aint sh*t!

2009-06-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

One of my hardware vendors constantly sends me classic photo post cards. This one arrived today. I thought it was worth sharing.

The back of the post card reads "Perilous ride down Capitol Building steps, Washington DC c. 1910. Photographer unidentified". So I assume it's in the public domain.

When SS and fixed-gear bikes are just too easy...

2009-05-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Move up to the new hotness: non-round wheels!

Wonder what kinda gear ratio he's running on that thing. Looks like it's about a 1:1. Ugh!

Bike 90

2009-05-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year, I announced that I was going to try to keep track of how many days I spent on the bike this year. My goal is 180. Almost half the year done, and I've wrapped up half the rides. Numero 90:

Still a ways to go. It's not always easy to motivate yourself to buckle up the shoes, throw on the lid and don a pair of green Lycra shorts... then have a butterfly land on your crotch. Anyways, for those of you doing the Bike 180 thing yourself, stay safe, and take some good ones.

Just like the do in DC!

2009-04-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

"Police in Denmark hug bicyclists without helmets, then give them helmets"

via.

Bike Nerdism

2009-04-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

My buddy B1umboy sent me a link to a geometry calculator toy so I can while away the day wondering how my bike will handle if I raked out my fork to ridiculous proportions:

http://bikegeo.muha.cc/