This article by Dave Moulton is a must read. Seriously, anybody who rides a bike- especially a race bike- needs to read this to understand why a bike rides the way it does and what to expect from a bike you are riding or thinking of buying.
I mean it!
Tim
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Taliah Lempert show updates/ news;
I've said many times in the past that Taliah Lempert is one of my favorite artists and I truly love her bicycle paintings. If you are anywhere near one of her shows, I highly recommend you check it out.
Here's the info;
May is Bike Month in NYC and there’s a lot going on.
http://www.bicyclepaintings.com/info/upcomingshows.html
I’ll be painting at the Bike NY festival,
If you’re riding, look for me at the end,
I’ll be in the Commerce Bank Tent.
I’m super excited to be having a show at my favorite community museum,
The City Relilquary. http://www.cityreliquary.org/
The City Reliquary Presents Paintings of Taliah Lempert
http://www.bicyclepaintings.com/shows/07cr.html
Runs from May 5-June 10th, open Saturday and Sunday, 12noon to 6pm
There’s an opening reception on Thursday, May 10, 7-10pm.
It’s going to be fun, so come if you can!
The first one, Why I Ride http://www.whyiridenyc.org/
Opens tonight, May 3 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm at several
My work is at NYC Velo at
http://bicyclefilmfestival.com/2007_site/nyc/thursday.php
It opens Thursday, May 17th from 6-12 and runs through the 21st,
open daily from 12-7 At Fountain Head Films, 33 W 17
Joy Ride is part of the Bicycle Film Festival, which is going to be great! http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/
The City Reliquary and the Bicycle Film Festival are having cycling related street fairs. I’ll have a booth at both fairs with prints, drawings and a bunch of stuff
http://www.bicyclepaintings.com/postcard/indexchoice.html
The City Reliquary’s Bicycle Fetish Day is on May 26th from 12noon – 6pm
On Havemeyer Street between Hope and Grand Streets.
The Bicycle Film Festival’s Street Party is Saturday afternoon, May 19th on
and finally, my annual class, Drawing the bicycle, is on May 29th, 6:30-9:30pm.
http://www.bicyclepaintings.com/info/drawingclass/form.html
It’s free, but space is limited, so if you want to come, sign up soon!
Thanks,
Taliah
Tim
Spotlight; Behind Bars
Behind Bars is a great little shop in Minneapolis. It's owned by Chuck Cowan and his wife Stephanie (and his little girl Daisy). Chuck is a good guy and we've become buddies over the past couple years.
Chuck and the shop support the LGR- Little Guy Racing- team. This is one crazy bunch of fun, bike riding folks. Among them are Gilby, (dis)pencer and Super Rookie. Their motto is pretty much "fun"... if you didn't get a feel for that yet. I am filling in as the West Coast representative...
Representin', yo! It's pretty much a twofer for me; supporting a great shop and supporting a great group of folks... a win-win! (Thanks for the kit guys/ gals... I'll wear it proudly.)
Chuck is also a sponsor of one of the biggest and mostest funnest alleycat races on the planet; Stupor Bowl. Chuck and I worked out a deal so that Masi could be a sponsor of the event this year and so the winner of the women's race received a Masi Speciale Fixed! If that isn't motivation to race your heart out, I don't know what is!
So without further delay, meet the lucky winner of the bike and the women's race; Stephanie Sibet!
Is there anything better than a happy girl and her bike? I just don't know if there is. Steph is a courier for Street Fleet in Minneapolis, so if you see an orange flash go buy on the mean streets of the Mini Apple... it's prolly Steph!
Good work Chuck, LGR and Steph!
Tim
Chuck and the shop support the LGR- Little Guy Racing- team. This is one crazy bunch of fun, bike riding folks. Among them are Gilby, (dis)pencer and Super Rookie. Their motto is pretty much "fun"... if you didn't get a feel for that yet. I am filling in as the West Coast representative...
Representin', yo! It's pretty much a twofer for me; supporting a great shop and supporting a great group of folks... a win-win! (Thanks for the kit guys/ gals... I'll wear it proudly.)
Chuck is also a sponsor of one of the biggest and mostest funnest alleycat races on the planet; Stupor Bowl. Chuck and I worked out a deal so that Masi could be a sponsor of the event this year and so the winner of the women's race received a Masi Speciale Fixed! If that isn't motivation to race your heart out, I don't know what is!
So without further delay, meet the lucky winner of the bike and the women's race; Stephanie Sibet!
Is there anything better than a happy girl and her bike? I just don't know if there is. Steph is a courier for Street Fleet in Minneapolis, so if you see an orange flash go buy on the mean streets of the Mini Apple... it's prolly Steph!
Good work Chuck, LGR and Steph!
Tim
Bicycle Race!
I can't believe it; the local radio station is playing Queen's Bicycle Race!
Tim
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
You say black I say white
You say bark I say bite
You say shark I say hey man
Jaws was never my scene
And I don't like Star Wars
You say Rolls I say Royce
You say God give me a choice
You say Lord I say Christ
I don't believe in Peter Pan
Frankenstein or Superman
All I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my
Bicycle races are coming your way
So forget all your duties oh yeah
Fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today
So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go
Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race
Bicycle bicycle bicycle I want to ride my bicycle
Bicycle bicycle bicycle bicycle
Bicycle race
You say coke I say caine
You say John I say Wayne
Hot dog I say cool it man
I don't wanna be the President of America
You say smile I say cheese
Cartier I say please
Income tax I say Jesus
I don't wanna be a candidate for
Vietnam or Watergate
Cause all I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
Tim
Perry-Roubaix 2007- Christian Parrett
I have been meaning to post this for far too long, but dig the picture;
That's Christian Parrett- son of Dave Parrett from Thomson- and he races on a Masi Gran Criterium. He's still a junior and is ripping legs off the Southeast peloton. Remember his name... you'll be reading it again in the future.
This shot is of Christian exiting the last section of dirt road during this year's Perry-Roubaix in Georgia- which he won. (Sounds like an epic race and I might have to start training for the '08 edition.)
Congrats again... even if a little late.
Tim
That's Christian Parrett- son of Dave Parrett from Thomson- and he races on a Masi Gran Criterium. He's still a junior and is ripping legs off the Southeast peloton. Remember his name... you'll be reading it again in the future.This shot is of Christian exiting the last section of dirt road during this year's Perry-Roubaix in Georgia- which he won. (Sounds like an epic race and I might have to start training for the '08 edition.)
Congrats again... even if a little late.
Tim
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
I'm "that guy"...
About two years ago, I was still the guy who used to be really fast, but due to work and lack of training was now just fast without doing too much work to be that way. Still competitive at the races and capable of the periodic "upset" win.
Now I am the guy who is no longer fast and who simply talks about how he used to be fast and was even once really fast. I am now "that guy"... the one who really should just admit that he's not fast anymore and just needs to take a step back and be honest and just race with the B group now and not the A group.
It's a sad reality...
So, as you might've guessed, my first night of track racing in two years did not go all that well. I didn't race any of the weekly evening races at the track last year because my work schedule was just too heavy and I couldn't justify leaving work an hour early to go race my bike. And all the travel ate into my training (can you feel the Excuse Wall being built). I only did one race at the track last year... one... and that was time trials, for crying out loud! Needless to say, my legs went into shock last night.
I went to the track specifically to race Keirin. 
I thought we were doing Sprints too, but it was just the Keirin, which is probably a good thing- I didn't have to embarrass myself in two events that way. My first round Keirin ride was a 5 man ride... one of those riders being Angelo Martorell who rides for the Mexican National team and has competed at both World Cup and /world Championship events and raced in Europe... he's good... really good. Angelo and I have raced against each other for about 10 years now, or close to it. The thing I like most about racing with Angelo, who is actually a very nice guy for a sprinter, is that he and I are almost always trying to be in the same spot on the track and almost always end up making pretty good contact. It seems like every time I'm in a Keirin with Angelo, we end up playing the gladiator game and bang off of each other like Keirin should be raced. Elbows, knees, headbutts... good physical Keirin. Last night was no exception... I was sitting second wheel behind the rider directly behind the motor, when the motor pulled off and we had two laps to race. As soon as the motor was gone and we were into turn 2, I moved slightly ahead to try and box in the lead rider a little and as soon as I did, Angelo moved up into my spot. As soon as I settled back a little bit, he was under my armpit with his helmet and elbow. I reciprocated and our delicate dance began! He elbowed me, I elbowed him, we both kind of kneed and butted the other for a little while and then I simply said, "nice to see you again Angelo!" He looked up at me and just shot me a grin.
When we came out of turn 2 on the bell lap, I jumped hard from my #2 spot and... blew a hamstring. I cramped pretty badly, but truth be told, even without the cramp, I doubt I could've done anything when they accelerated. I thought I'd try to go for the win and see if I could hold them off, but the cramp shut me down completely and then the grim reality that I simply wasn't as fast as them set in.
So I spent the next part of the evening trying to stay warmed up and tried to stretch the hamstring back out. Since I didn't advance out of the first round of the Keirin, I had to wait for our consolation bracket finale ("losers bracket"), which was a 10 lap Snowball. One of the young guns took off immediately from the gun and got a nice little gap and took the first three lap points. Since he had a nice gap, I figured I'd chase him down and either just bring him back with the group or work with him and stay out front... but I only succeeded in closing the gap and then blowing apart in fantastic fashion and pulling out after 6 of the 10 laps.
Realizing my night was essentially done... I put on my jacket and shorts and headed into the stands to sit with friends and have a few beers and watch the Keirin final and the 30 lap Scratch finale. It was pretty cool to hang out in the fairly full stands (for us) and hang out. I got to see good friends and have a nice tasty beverage.
When I got up into the stands, I found my buddy Dan- "Nut Punch"- Large with his lovely girlfriend Alicia (not sure if I spelled that right). It was Dan's birthday, so he was surrounded by friends and the beer was flowing. Best of all, Alicia has a fantastic sense of style! It should also be mentioned that Dan is a great mechanic at Adams Avenue Bike Shop and recently served as a wrench/ moto driver for Mavic at the Tour de Georgia... 
Also in the stands was my very good friend PP (today is his birthday). PP is a good guy... and I managed to not crack any of his ribs last night. His current project is converting diesel engine cars to vegetable oil cars. It's pretty cool... his smells like Thai food!
Once the races were over, it was time for pizza at Lefty's! We had yummy pizza and beer and made Dan feel a little better about being so damned old (except he's younger than me).
And this is Richie (again, not sure of spelling). Richie is a new transplant to San Diego from the fine little village known as New York City. Yes, he sounds like a New Yorker and heckles race announcers like one too. BUT... he can ride a bike... very well.
The picture doesn't do justice to the fact he was doing no-handed wheelies on his fixed gear- with just his sneaks on- no clips, no nothing. It was impressive.
So all in all, even with realizing how slow I am (currently), I had a great time at the track and can't wait to get back and try to improve on my performance of last night. I still race and still will race simply because I love to do it. I love racing. Even if I am "that guy".
It was also great to see all the other friends who I didn't get pictures of; Gordon, Tony, Scott, John, Schanda, etc, etc, etc... (I'll get pictures next time).
I look forward to the next race I get to, though next week I'll be out of town again. Hopefully it won't be more than two weeks before I am back on the track again... even if I have to race the B group (and hope for better luck).
Tim
Now I am the guy who is no longer fast and who simply talks about how he used to be fast and was even once really fast. I am now "that guy"... the one who really should just admit that he's not fast anymore and just needs to take a step back and be honest and just race with the B group now and not the A group.
It's a sad reality...
So, as you might've guessed, my first night of track racing in two years did not go all that well. I didn't race any of the weekly evening races at the track last year because my work schedule was just too heavy and I couldn't justify leaving work an hour early to go race my bike. And all the travel ate into my training (can you feel the Excuse Wall being built). I only did one race at the track last year... one... and that was time trials, for crying out loud! Needless to say, my legs went into shock last night.
I went to the track specifically to race Keirin. 
I thought we were doing Sprints too, but it was just the Keirin, which is probably a good thing- I didn't have to embarrass myself in two events that way. My first round Keirin ride was a 5 man ride... one of those riders being Angelo Martorell who rides for the Mexican National team and has competed at both World Cup and /world Championship events and raced in Europe... he's good... really good. Angelo and I have raced against each other for about 10 years now, or close to it. The thing I like most about racing with Angelo, who is actually a very nice guy for a sprinter, is that he and I are almost always trying to be in the same spot on the track and almost always end up making pretty good contact. It seems like every time I'm in a Keirin with Angelo, we end up playing the gladiator game and bang off of each other like Keirin should be raced. Elbows, knees, headbutts... good physical Keirin. Last night was no exception... I was sitting second wheel behind the rider directly behind the motor, when the motor pulled off and we had two laps to race. As soon as the motor was gone and we were into turn 2, I moved slightly ahead to try and box in the lead rider a little and as soon as I did, Angelo moved up into my spot. As soon as I settled back a little bit, he was under my armpit with his helmet and elbow. I reciprocated and our delicate dance began! He elbowed me, I elbowed him, we both kind of kneed and butted the other for a little while and then I simply said, "nice to see you again Angelo!" He looked up at me and just shot me a grin.When we came out of turn 2 on the bell lap, I jumped hard from my #2 spot and... blew a hamstring. I cramped pretty badly, but truth be told, even without the cramp, I doubt I could've done anything when they accelerated. I thought I'd try to go for the win and see if I could hold them off, but the cramp shut me down completely and then the grim reality that I simply wasn't as fast as them set in.
So I spent the next part of the evening trying to stay warmed up and tried to stretch the hamstring back out. Since I didn't advance out of the first round of the Keirin, I had to wait for our consolation bracket finale ("losers bracket"), which was a 10 lap Snowball. One of the young guns took off immediately from the gun and got a nice little gap and took the first three lap points. Since he had a nice gap, I figured I'd chase him down and either just bring him back with the group or work with him and stay out front... but I only succeeded in closing the gap and then blowing apart in fantastic fashion and pulling out after 6 of the 10 laps.Realizing my night was essentially done... I put on my jacket and shorts and headed into the stands to sit with friends and have a few beers and watch the Keirin final and the 30 lap Scratch finale. It was pretty cool to hang out in the fairly full stands (for us) and hang out. I got to see good friends and have a nice tasty beverage.
When I got up into the stands, I found my buddy Dan- "Nut Punch"- Large with his lovely girlfriend Alicia (not sure if I spelled that right). It was Dan's birthday, so he was surrounded by friends and the beer was flowing. Best of all, Alicia has a fantastic sense of style! It should also be mentioned that Dan is a great mechanic at Adams Avenue Bike Shop and recently served as a wrench/ moto driver for Mavic at the Tour de Georgia... 
Also in the stands was my very good friend PP (today is his birthday). PP is a good guy... and I managed to not crack any of his ribs last night. His current project is converting diesel engine cars to vegetable oil cars. It's pretty cool... his smells like Thai food!
Once the races were over, it was time for pizza at Lefty's! We had yummy pizza and beer and made Dan feel a little better about being so damned old (except he's younger than me).
And this is Richie (again, not sure of spelling). Richie is a new transplant to San Diego from the fine little village known as New York City. Yes, he sounds like a New Yorker and heckles race announcers like one too. BUT... he can ride a bike... very well.
The picture doesn't do justice to the fact he was doing no-handed wheelies on his fixed gear- with just his sneaks on- no clips, no nothing. It was impressive.So all in all, even with realizing how slow I am (currently), I had a great time at the track and can't wait to get back and try to improve on my performance of last night. I still race and still will race simply because I love to do it. I love racing. Even if I am "that guy".
It was also great to see all the other friends who I didn't get pictures of; Gordon, Tony, Scott, John, Schanda, etc, etc, etc... (I'll get pictures next time).
I look forward to the next race I get to, though next week I'll be out of town again. Hopefully it won't be more than two weeks before I am back on the track again... even if I have to race the B group (and hope for better luck).
Tim
"Coltello" is Italian for "knife"...
This is the coolest knife ever known to man...
And who makes the coolest knife ever known to man?
Do you even need to ask? Thanks little buddy!
Tim
And who makes the coolest knife ever known to man?
Do you even need to ask? Thanks little buddy!
Tim
"Coltello" is Italian for "knife"...
This is the coolest knife ever known to man...
And who makes the coolest knife ever known to man?
Do you even need to ask? Thanks little buddy!
Tim
And who makes the coolest knife ever known to man?
Do you even need to ask? Thanks little buddy!
Tim
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Athens Twilight Pictures
Rumor has it that "a picture is worth a thousand words"... so here's a few thousand for your eyes.
(From the Athens Banner-Herald)
Just moments after realizing the impact of his night's work- look at the joy on his face and the faces of his teammates!
Kodak to the left and Jittery Joe's to the right- two great pro teams... but they couldn't defeat Mark Hekman and A&F!
Here is on the podium collecting his prize for the fastest lap of the night! Oh yeah, he's a bad ass!
Podium girls... not sure if he's happiest about the win or being surrounded by podium girls. Either way, it's pretty danged cool! THAT is a happy face, if ever I saw one.
And here's 5 of the 6 "giant killers"; Rich Harper, Jim Baldesare, Mark- winner- Hekman, Marco Aledia and Neil Coleman (not pictured, but holding the camera- Frankie Dierking).
Congratulations again fellas! (Look for more updates on the Masi website soon.)
Tim
(From the Athens Banner-Herald)
Kodak to the left and Jittery Joe's to the right- two great pro teams... but they couldn't defeat Mark Hekman and A&F!
Here is on the podium collecting his prize for the fastest lap of the night! Oh yeah, he's a bad ass!
Podium girls... not sure if he's happiest about the win or being surrounded by podium girls. Either way, it's pretty danged cool! THAT is a happy face, if ever I saw one.
And here's 5 of the 6 "giant killers"; Rich Harper, Jim Baldesare, Mark- winner- Hekman, Marco Aledia and Neil Coleman (not pictured, but holding the camera- Frankie Dierking).Congratulations again fellas! (Look for more updates on the Masi website soon.)
Tim
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