Sorry for the lack of content the last few, real job has actually gotten busy. Hopefully the side project will be the main project soon enough. Until then check out Danny Macaskill, he’s cooler than a scraper bike.
more about "Parkour on a bicycle", posted with vodpod
Posted in Commute by Bike
If this vid doesn’t melt your face it will at least make you want to go rip streets on your whip. I am told Spencer is only 19 but can rock with the best! Check it.
more about "Spencer Walker: School of Rock, U of …", posted with vodpod
Posted in Commute by Bike
It isn’t very often that I write about anything race related, however due to UM Cycling’s generosity and general coolness I need to give them and the Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference a shout. Collegiate cycling is a great way to get started racing a bike in a relaxed atmosphere. Where else do people race with helmet cams right? Anyway, here’s a vid from the OSU Crit a couple weeks ago. UM Cycling is so gangsta!
Posted in Bike Adventures, urban, velo
Tagged Road Soldier, UM Cycling, UO Cycling
Check out what’s been brewing (literally) here at Farm to Market Bicycle Company. For all you lucky folk in the flathead, coffee delivery via bike is now a reality. More details in the Farm section. I know you’ll love it.
Posted in Commute by Bike
Apologies to all you readers out there, I have nothing to offer this week. I’ve been doing my best Jack Kerouac impression the last 4 days. Instead of a proper bike commuter piece i’ll give a short recap of my weekend.
Wednesday-Friday: Came down to Missoula on the first Farm to Market Bicycles Business trip. Met with Dave and Kevin and their new shop. Its called Hellgate Cyclery and has a wonderful Downtown location in Missoula. I had a great time riding around what could be the best town/city ever, saw all my friends and had supported some local establishments.
Friday night: My poor little pup, Reily, escaped from her backyard and went on a garbage binge around Missoula. Try as I might to find her, she evaded my capture. Eventually she spent the night in the bear den.
Sat. woke up after a fun night with Shaun, and Cass, drove for Seattle to drop off the evil beagle. Stayed with Devin, went out in Capitol Hill, saw old friends. Heck of a time.
Sunday: Woke up at dawn, again! Went to Sewage park to watch UM cycling kick butt at the crit. UM cycling is so gangsta. Ate at fast eddies in spokane, first edible joint i’ve ever found there. Rolled back to Missoula with them, got in around 11.
Monday AM: Went jogging, stopped at UM lab, where I sit now writing. If your still reading I applaud your abilities, combination of coffee, crap food, lack of sleep and covering 1200 miles in a day has put me in this state. See ya’ll next week.
Posted in Commute by Bike
For those of unfamiliar with the Giro D’iscovery, please feel free to take a look at the movie trailer on the site’s TV station. I believe the sound is disabled due to a royalty dispute between UM’s research lab and some Irish singer, but I cannot confirm anything about that. Anyway, the short, silent film depicts nine of my friends and my 2000 mile journey from Missoula, Montana to Granby, Colorado and back during August of 2007. The epic journey was actually a field study commissioned by the US Air Force to study the effects of prolonged endurance related stress on the human machine. Our dear friends Doctors Ruby and Slivka, as well as Scientists Cuddy, Hailes and Gatorade Jim created and carried out this study of massive proportion. The data collected is still being analyzed over the year and a half since our trip. The riders performance was tested by giving blood and tissue samples, wearing heart rate monitors, power meters on our bikes and the always adored POMS test (Perception of Mood State, PMS test for short). The Military loves acronyms.
Everyone involved in the Giro D’iscovery (giro meaning tour, also paying homage to the Giro d’Italia and D’iscovery a reference to Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery) believed we were part of something once in a lifetime, the first test of its size and scope. And we were, in a sense, no human performance test even comes close to the amount of data the lab collected. But, much to my surprise, we weren’t the first subjects the military commisioned to ride 2000 miles. We weren’t even the first one’s they told to ride 2000 miles leaving from Missoula!
I know, I know. Your probably thinking, how could this be the case? Lets not forget, were talking about the US Military folks, they’ve been wasting trillions of dollars for quite a while now. As it turns out, if you turn back the clock about 110 years and 1 month, another group of riders left Missoula on amazingly similar journey. On June 14th, 1897, twenty black soldiers from the 25th infantry, stationed in Missoula, took off on a 2000 mile trek to St. Louis. Carrying 55 pounds of supplies. On crappy dirt roads. On crappy single speeds. Their support crew; a half blind spiritual advisor, a reporter, a doctor, a mechanic, and Lieutenant James Moss, an overly ambitious young officer whom I’m sure his men, and the army grew a very strong distaste for. Suddenly my fully supported, catered and pampered trek seems more like a vacation than an extreme endurance fatigue study. I wonder what our POMS testing would have looked like had we endured the same 63 mile cyclocross style portage (back then they just called it carrying your bike on your shoulder) one day that the 25th had to go through? Amazingly, the Bicycle Corps made the trip down to St. Louis in only 5 and 1/2 weeks!
I can’t help but think about the similarities between the soldiers of the 25th and the riders of the Giro. I’m sure they relied on each other just as much as we did when they had nothing left. I’m sure they asked questions like, who do you like? Maybe they even did the chicken dance to pass the time. I also think about how much worse they had it. My general motto on the Giro was: Life sucks, I suck at life, but riding bikes all day is one hell of a fun time! I bet theirs was more like: Life sucks, but this crap really sucks. But I’ll also bet that if you could ask any of them if they would do it again they would give the same answer as me, wouldn’t trade it for the world. 25th Bicycle Corps, Giro riders salute you for the trail you blazed in history, ride on comrades!
Old school whips.
Phil
Info gathered from personal experience and Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac, Issue BA-100. Hopefully for sale on the site ASAP! See ya’ll next week.
Posted in Bike Adventures, Commute by Bike, retro
Tagged bike adventure, Vintage Cruiser, vintage single speed
Check out our “In The Garage” section for three new bikes we’re restoring. RB 1 and 2 should be ready for the weekend!
Ranch Bike Two is finished and up for sale! Check it out in the garage…
Posted in Commute by Bike
Welcome back to the second addition of the Sunday Special. This week’s post has the important distinction of being the first second addition of anything on the whole site! Hopefully what follows can live up to such a high mark. Today’s special regards a project as green as they come. Not just the marketing type of green either. Or like when a home builder refers to building green mansions but he’s really just referring the green in his pockets. This project is actually sustainable and it’s called Bamboosero. Continue reading
Posted in Commute by Bike
For some odd reason, the music business always release’s their hip new albums on Tuesday’s. So, in keeping with the music biz, Farm to Market Bikes has added a new feature; New Release Tuesday’s. The main focus will be on products that make commuting by bike easier, more fun and lets not forget, more fashionable. After all, if you look like a goon riding around town you may as well kick rocks. So what has the honor of being included in the first installment of New Release Tuesday’s? NAHBS. Continue reading
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