Almost got taken out tonight at my favorite intersection.
A car pulling out of the canadian tire parking lot, looking right while turning left under throttle. I made it around them and my pant leg brushed the front bumper while I slapped my hand down on their hood.
Not even 50 meters later, a group of three people, (two girls and a guy) walk out in mid block, from in between parallel parked cars without looking. I shout "Hey" as I swerve around them, and only one of the girls sees me and stops.
The guy starts yelling "FUCK YOU!" and chasing after me. He's basically trying to start a fight with me because I warned his dumb ass to pay attention. His girlfriend is screaming at him and pulling on his arm. I'm loud as well, but don't resort to name calling. A crowd gathers around as we stand in the middle of the street yelling at each other.
What is wrong with people?
Could he really be that pissed off that Canadian tire was all out of inflatable lawn pumpkins?
East Van is a war zone tonight.
I suppose I should take this time to write about the Halloween Critical Mass as well.
This was really well attended (300ish?), and went over pretty smoothly (I think).
There were so many people in costume, it was incredible. This is probably why the motorists were so happy to wait. We were much more entertaining than usual.
People at bus stops would high five us. Couples trapped in their cars would smile and wave. The really interesting thing, was that lone men stuck in the traffic would be on their cell phones, reporting on the mass.. Whereas lone women (mostly in silver SUVs) would have the glazed over death look. They looked the unhappiest. I would make sure to smile extra big to them, waving, and sometimes commenting on how much I loved their Pathfinder, Murano or whatever. Not one smiled back.
The Negatives:
-Someone along Burrard, just up the hill from the bridge was thowing eggs at the mass from their condo.
-A pedestrian felt he shouldn't have to wait, and shoved Morgan with two hands while barging through the mass. When Morgan stopped, he tried to pick a fight.
-A motorist on Robson, nudging a corker, then getting out and claiming that he wants to move his vehicle so it won't get scratched, and inspects the front bumper on his Delta88 for damage!
The Positives:
-sexy costumes abound
-pulling mad wheelies along Hastings
-ESL students continuously photographing the mass
-Sealab Jumpsuit getting recognized by all the right people 'I LOVE SEALAB!'
Oh.. and this is both a positive and a negative.. The Brinking.
I feel that I shouldn't cork traffic with a beer in hand.
I'm not going to do that anymore.
It looks and feels unprofessional. I only had 2 beer over the course of the evening, so I was probably alright, but still. It doesn't help the cause.
I got what was coming to me after I broke off from the mass though. I was riding solo up Union, on my home, and decided to practice wheelies some more. That went pretty well, until I crashed. I basically bunnyhop flipped the bike, as a result of being stuck in the cleats. I landed on my shoulder with the bike still on my feet. Damage to the bike included: Stem misalignment, ripped bar tape, gouged saddle, and my rear wheel was knocked out of true. I made myself fix it that night as punishment.
Speaking of Punishment (segue). I did not participate in the Devil's night alleycat. I had decided before I saw the manifest, and when I did see it, it concreted my decision. What a mess. It looked like a full day of messing, starting at 8pm. I'll let Morgan report on that one. I rode around town a bit, then helped carve pumpkins.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The bicycle bee
Wow.This was incredible.I wish I had more time this weekend to help.
Early Saturday morning we were all chillin in the alley behind the Pivot Legal parkade. What better way for everyone to get to know each other besides standing around in the cold, waiting for someone with keys to let us in.
By the time the keys arrived, there was about 15 people ready to work.
The actual setup went faster than I thought it would. Signs were erected, chairs and tables were distributed, tools were set up, Armbands were tied.
I had to get some copies printed up for our workshop, so I had to take off and hit up the local copy shop (on Clark).. Of course they couldn't print from a flash drive, as their 'computer' department wasn't open.
"But there's a computer right there.."
So I had to go downtown and hit Staples.Of course they would take 2 hours.. meaning I had to come back.It seems I did a lot of trips east/west on Pender that day.
The security workshop went over really well. Though it was poorly attended, the people that were there were really receptive to our tips. Apparently there was some talk of Momentum Magazine publishing my security guide.
The stands seemed busy all day, both days. Hopefully my truing stand was put to good use. I haven't checked it to see if its still calibrated.
Saturday Night, N1ck rolled over to my pad and we stumbled down to Simon's for the bike movies and social.. of course, I was too looped to be social, so I planted myself on a couch until I was coherant again. I love Triplettes of Bellville.
Sunday was kind of a writeoff for me. I didn't get much done for myself, but I helped out Kim a bunch and thats rad. When we stopped by the bike bee at 6pm, things were still going strong.
I freakin love this community.
Upcoming Project-B events include:
-Hey Fixie
-Midnight Mass
-Halloween Critical Mass
-Logo design brainstorm sesh ... meet at Bons?
-Sekine 27" wheel integrity investigation
-Project 'N1ck needs a job' bike build
-LTR1 racing class at Burnaby Velodrome Nov 4th
-Finishing my stupid hillclimb chopper
Early Saturday morning we were all chillin in the alley behind the Pivot Legal parkade. What better way for everyone to get to know each other besides standing around in the cold, waiting for someone with keys to let us in.
By the time the keys arrived, there was about 15 people ready to work.
The actual setup went faster than I thought it would. Signs were erected, chairs and tables were distributed, tools were set up, Armbands were tied.
I had to get some copies printed up for our workshop, so I had to take off and hit up the local copy shop (on Clark).. Of course they couldn't print from a flash drive, as their 'computer' department wasn't open.
"But there's a computer right there.."
So I had to go downtown and hit Staples.Of course they would take 2 hours.. meaning I had to come back.It seems I did a lot of trips east/west on Pender that day.
The security workshop went over really well. Though it was poorly attended, the people that were there were really receptive to our tips. Apparently there was some talk of Momentum Magazine publishing my security guide.
The stands seemed busy all day, both days. Hopefully my truing stand was put to good use. I haven't checked it to see if its still calibrated.
Saturday Night, N1ck rolled over to my pad and we stumbled down to Simon's for the bike movies and social.. of course, I was too looped to be social, so I planted myself on a couch until I was coherant again. I love Triplettes of Bellville.
Sunday was kind of a writeoff for me. I didn't get much done for myself, but I helped out Kim a bunch and thats rad. When we stopped by the bike bee at 6pm, things were still going strong.
I freakin love this community.
Upcoming Project-B events include:
-Hey Fixie
-Midnight Mass
-Halloween Critical Mass
-Logo design brainstorm sesh ... meet at Bons?
-Sekine 27" wheel integrity investigation
-Project 'N1ck needs a job' bike build
-LTR1 racing class at Burnaby Velodrome Nov 4th
-Finishing my stupid hillclimb chopper
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Sketchy Night sessions
N1ck and I hit up Scratchkona for a mini-sesh last night.Some smooth grinds were layed down in the shadows. Unfortunately my pegs don't spark, even at high speed.
I managed to double peg up the incline ledge, and across the bench. Nick was actually able to pop out of some sprocket grinds too.
After we had exhausted all of our possible lines in the park, I suggested we roll to the Powell/Clark loading dock. N1ck declined due to his delicate shoulder, so I went on alone.
I rode there for about 15 minutes before a larger guy (probably 300lbs) walked up from the east sidewalk. I'm not quite sure what this guy's deal was. He had a dated leather jacket, and gold braceletes all down his wrist.
Things started off friendly enough, with him asking where he could get a used BMX around here.So I stopped briefly, 2-3m from him, with a foot on the crank while we chatted.
I told him about the used places in town, OCB, sports junkies, Cheapskates etc..(I didn't mention that a used BMX like the ones at those shops wouldn't hold up to a 300lb guy, but whatever.)
Eventually, he started asking about MY bike..
"What kind of bike is that one?"
"This is a Macneil, they're a Canadian company"
"Oh yeah.." he said while nodding, "How much does that one.." as he started to step forward.
At that point I determined that he was attempting to bridge the space I had purposely left between us.I gave some crank pressure and said "I'm gonna keep riding now." and I looped around to do another sketchy bank fufanu.
On my loop back towards the top of the lot he said "Its like you've got your own playground here!"
To which I replied "All of cracktown is my playground."
.. I hit the bank again, and I heard him say "Hey man, I've got something for ya!"
I kind of ignored that, and kept riding. Eventually, he tired of standing there, and waddled back the way he came.
I did a few more runs, then looped up to the top of the lot again to monitor his position.He was now sitting in a beater Festiva, on a cell phone.
I still wasn't sure of what was going on, so I decided it was time to get out of there.I grabbed my hoodie, and rode out of the lot past him, waving at him in his Festiva.
Now.. The guy COULD have just been a regular joe, asking about bikes...But I got a dealer vibe from him.
Its possible he wanted to jump me for my bike during that conversation. Its also possible that after he determined he wouldn't be jacking me, that he hoped to exchange my bike for some crack.
If he wasn't a dealer, then what the hell was he doing waiting at the loading dock at night?
I managed to double peg up the incline ledge, and across the bench. Nick was actually able to pop out of some sprocket grinds too.
After we had exhausted all of our possible lines in the park, I suggested we roll to the Powell/Clark loading dock. N1ck declined due to his delicate shoulder, so I went on alone.
I rode there for about 15 minutes before a larger guy (probably 300lbs) walked up from the east sidewalk. I'm not quite sure what this guy's deal was. He had a dated leather jacket, and gold braceletes all down his wrist.
Things started off friendly enough, with him asking where he could get a used BMX around here.So I stopped briefly, 2-3m from him, with a foot on the crank while we chatted.
I told him about the used places in town, OCB, sports junkies, Cheapskates etc..(I didn't mention that a used BMX like the ones at those shops wouldn't hold up to a 300lb guy, but whatever.)
Eventually, he started asking about MY bike..
"What kind of bike is that one?"
"This is a Macneil, they're a Canadian company"
"Oh yeah.." he said while nodding, "How much does that one.." as he started to step forward.
At that point I determined that he was attempting to bridge the space I had purposely left between us.I gave some crank pressure and said "I'm gonna keep riding now." and I looped around to do another sketchy bank fufanu.
On my loop back towards the top of the lot he said "Its like you've got your own playground here!"
To which I replied "All of cracktown is my playground."
.. I hit the bank again, and I heard him say "Hey man, I've got something for ya!"
I kind of ignored that, and kept riding. Eventually, he tired of standing there, and waddled back the way he came.
I did a few more runs, then looped up to the top of the lot again to monitor his position.He was now sitting in a beater Festiva, on a cell phone.
I still wasn't sure of what was going on, so I decided it was time to get out of there.I grabbed my hoodie, and rode out of the lot past him, waving at him in his Festiva.
Now.. The guy COULD have just been a regular joe, asking about bikes...But I got a dealer vibe from him.
Its possible he wanted to jump me for my bike during that conversation. Its also possible that after he determined he wouldn't be jacking me, that he hoped to exchange my bike for some crack.
If he wasn't a dealer, then what the hell was he doing waiting at the loading dock at night?
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Slumming it
Three of us were in attendance this weekend, as we slummed it on Main St.
Mind you, it didn't really feel like slumming, as I paid double what a normal Projekt-b breakfast should cost. Thanks Jim, that was 'slickety'. The potatos were nicely seasoned too.
After much discussion of inter-scene politics, and the desire to help, we decided it was time to get rad like Cru Jones.
We did a good spot kill on China creek. Skylar tried a 3 to manual out of the teacup and back into the bathtub, with hilarious results both times.
I landed a few incomplete 3s, and N1ck held down the wood ramps.
While working on the G-ville bank, it was learned that Skylar has never seen Rad, and I have never seen BMX Bandits. Possible movie night in the future?
Pretty much every spot near false creek was sessioned, and we were all able to make it back up Mt. Pleasant, just barely.
Next meeting is a potential 'SPACE RIDE' Tuesday night. (THATS TODAY!!!)
This is less of a ride through outer space, and more of a ride from space to space.
The spaces are for this:
http://bicyclebee.blogspot.com/
There is also a bike bee meeting this Wednesday, see their blog for more info.
Mind you, it didn't really feel like slumming, as I paid double what a normal Projekt-b breakfast should cost. Thanks Jim, that was 'slickety'. The potatos were nicely seasoned too.
After much discussion of inter-scene politics, and the desire to help, we decided it was time to get rad like Cru Jones.
We did a good spot kill on China creek. Skylar tried a 3 to manual out of the teacup and back into the bathtub, with hilarious results both times.
I landed a few incomplete 3s, and N1ck held down the wood ramps.
While working on the G-ville bank, it was learned that Skylar has never seen Rad, and I have never seen BMX Bandits. Possible movie night in the future?
Pretty much every spot near false creek was sessioned, and we were all able to make it back up Mt. Pleasant, just barely.
Next meeting is a potential 'SPACE RIDE' Tuesday night. (THATS TODAY!!!)
This is less of a ride through outer space, and more of a ride from space to space.
The spaces are for this:
http://bicyclebee.blogspot.com/
There is also a bike bee meeting this Wednesday, see their blog for more info.
Friday, October 06, 2006
WELCOME TO PROJEKT B
Well now.. you're probably wondering what Project B is.
To tell the truth, we don't know yet.
We do know that it involves a core group of Vancouver cyclists that meet regularly to get ill on our steeds.
To tell the truth, we don't know yet.
We do know that it involves a core group of Vancouver cyclists that meet regularly to get ill on our steeds.
We keep it street, whether we're rollin on 20's, 26's or 29's.
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