Met up with Meat today to put in some miles around the LES, Brooklyn, Queens, and midtown. All in all a successful ride, despite suffering crotch blowout on my Carhartts and nearly getting pinched by an ambulance (of all people)
It turns out we missed a group ride to the courthouse today, where people in support of the 5 Borough Bicycle Club were riding to the courthouse. The 5BBC is suing the NYPD for their tactics in dealing with Critical Mass over the past 4 years. (intimidation, bike confiscation, summons for 'parading without permit' etc)
Here's a Press release on the Time's Up page.
There are more and more people riding in NYC every day (especially now that its warmed up), and its just stupid that the NYPD is maintaining this stance towards a silly group ride that hardly interupts the momentum of this place.
And with more and more riders, comes more bike theft. Hal from Bicycle habitat is quite a character, and he's out rating your lock up jobs again.
(courtesy of streetfilms)
It turns out he invented the bicycle chain too! Incredible!
Showing posts with label Critical Mass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Critical Mass. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 30, 2008
Hook for a Handlebar
I just don't know anymore. I've been donating parts, purging possessions. What bike to ride. what bikes to take? Is the Cunny really cracked? (I sanded the hairline to see what was up, and I still can't quite tell) Things are going pretty fast. My eyes water. Eye protection was left at Lance's. I'll have to go back to Sanderson Safety Supply in Portland if I want another pair of those glasses. They also have that crazy reflective striping on the back of Semi Trucks. It goes for like $30 a roll, but how much is safety to worth to you? Its worth what we value it at. I value it the most when towing things too large for my BOB's capacity up clark at high speed. When a suble weight shift over a bump means the rear end of the bike wants to up and pass. It nearly happened to me this morning around 2am as well. The topheavy MECercycle was wedged into the trailer in some type of nosebonk, and strapped down like a dirt bike to a pickup bed. Somehow it gave way though, spilling onto Victoria in front of the Fire hall. Slightly less than a yard sail, just a couple of sparks from my shoes. Straps? check. Mask? Check, FRS radios? ... dead. what the crap. Its the end of Work to Bike week here in Vancouver, and what did we learn? Does 1500 noob cyclists on the streets for a week change anything? Who really WON the commutard challenge? (we ALL did!, YAY). There's just so much going on. Betterer mark your stuff in the Calendar. Two months is going to Fly by. Had a brief ride with JWeeks in Morgan's absence this week. Pallets were ridden. oh yes. Trembling after a brakeless sprint across town on his BMX. Moppy hair in his eyes. Hoon is strong with this one. Morgan didn't take the Stairmaster to Italy. No Church be easy. N1ck has debarred the lolcat in the hopes that his hip will forgive.. so I guess that leaves me with unofficial B Weeks. I'm also frantically trying to get This BCClettes mobile show lounge trailer cabarextravaganza out of the way. Hopefully my diagrams will aid Robert, when he's doing the metal work. I'm designing for girls, with the only girl input being Wifey. Lets hope our combined common sense makes for a usable end product. Wrap up BBQ today where they perform, sans SOUNDTRAILER. but whatever. They can wait. ..or get eaten!
Yeah. Pirate mass today. Hook for a handlebar. BootayBootayBootayBootayBootay.
Project MECercycle
Yeah. Pirate mass today. Hook for a handlebar. BootayBootayBootayBootayBootay.
Project MECercycle
Friday, April 25, 2008
Critical MASH
A conversation with wifey last night had me thinking about critical mass. About how we get to enjoy a ridiculous street party, thanks to the work of the pioneers of bike advocacy in Vancouver. The Bicycle People. These may be the raingear wearing chanters that everyone loves to hate.. but they really helped us out. Imagine how hectic those early bridge takeovers were!
It just makes me want to mash it up even more. Take over the streets. Prove the superiority of the bicycle. control the cars. establish dominance.
For this I'll need a tool. It will be honed. A cunny. some bullhorns. some oil. Fresh M540s on lockdown.
This month we've got a special guest star, Timmy TimTim Wyatt!
Not to mention TanikAlexis riding for Lance!
I'm riding for the hooligans and rudeboys.
See you out there, bicycle people=]
It just makes me want to mash it up even more. Take over the streets. Prove the superiority of the bicycle. control the cars. establish dominance.
For this I'll need a tool. It will be honed. A cunny. some bullhorns. some oil. Fresh M540s on lockdown.
This month we've got a special guest star, Timmy TimTim Wyatt!
Not to mention TanikAlexis riding for Lance!
I'm riding for the hooligans and rudeboys.
See you out there, bicycle people=]
Friday, October 26, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Hoon is Bike month
I haven't been blogging much lately. Mostly just poking around the internets and echoing the Youtubes available to me.
Well, its time for an update.
I just got back from a screening of BIKE (okay, this is old news already) and I'm all fired up. I want to ride, but the crowd was dissipative, and went their own ways.
Thats the way it is on bikes. we roll alone, we meet briefly. we roll apart. Sometimes we're held together and it can be a really great thing, other times its not needed.
BIKE was all about this theme. this inclusivity, this cohesiveness. this exclusivity. This love.
Tony, the film maker, spent a year and a half trying to get into NYC's Black Label bike club, and they wouldn't have him. They wouldn't have him because they didn't trust that he wanted in for the right reasons.
I've got a lot of things on my mind.
Amy brings up the bikesphere and triggers deep feelings.
"What is your main concern in the bikesphere"
Self Preservation? I talked about myself. Are we all so selfish? I want to see the community grow and thrive, but I just focus on keeping myself in running order.
I don't know where I'm going with this. This love.
Just tonight I met a guy who works in the bicycle industry. (also old news) On the mountain bike side of things. I'm curious to talk to him more. One thing he said, was that it has to be done for the love.
Also recently, I was up North, doing Projekt-B field work, and met a guy named Phillipe, who has single handedly brought bike culture to Whitehorse. He's a bike mech, he's an artist. He's changing the landscape for the better. He lives above his shop, he's doing it for the love.
It makes me wonder just where this Project will take me. Probably to the world of High fashion
Choppers, modifications.
On a human scale, its not dangerous.
Because 50km/h is not dangerous.
Where was I? Its a week later, and I just cant get this blogging thing right. Originally, this blog entry was supposed to be posted early morning on Sunday. However, that didn't pan out. Then I got busy with commuting and Solidwerking, and well, here we are at the weekend again. Except is Thursday. (or Monday, fuck)
I guess I've been watching a bunch of bike movies lately. I just got back from the Bike Shorts screening. There were 14 videos. ] Including Wendell Challenger's long line of cars. There was a great time lapse flatland one on an airstrip, and we even got to see Morgan take his pants off! One of my favorites was a 'post apocalyptic' story about THE BREATH, and how hard a good bike pump was to come by. Sadly, in this future, people are still getting killed for oil. I'm reall glad I went to this event.
So this week in bikes, I put new 600 cranks on the Bianchi, except they're not new. They're older than the ones I had, and they're shorter. I can only hope they're not just on long term loan. I also got into the dirty dirty with a middle aged guy in a minivan. I shouldn't pick on them. Its been relatively dry, so I've been rolling the Cunny to work most days. Thats right, you're Health and Safety representative is riding the brakeless unicorn. A cop spashed me with a mud puddle Tuesday. It wasn't even raining. I think he aimed for it. its just a 30cm diameter hole in Union street, that he MUST know contains muddy water. Right in the face, all over my jersey. I'm trying to catch up in kilometerage to my normal months this year, but I think I've already taken about 7 days off the bike. That really affects the numbers. I'm a nerd. pie chart. [650km total for the month]
This weekend promises to be crazy. I'm starting off with Midnight mass tonight. I better decide which bike to roll, and soon.
Tomorrow I'm going to hit the big June Critical Thrash
Edit: rain, drown rat.
I've slept, but it still feels like I've been up forever. The rainy MM, the out of control Critical mass, The scarface, the BBW, The race. its all a bit much. This guy is a writeoff. He drifts in and out of conciousness. Not sure how he rode a bike. 8.0 hoon.
Non Biased CTV mass footage:
Paris Hilton's Big Day Out, Cooper Park Checkpoint:
Edit: I think I'm ready to go back to work. edit.
Well, its time for an update.
I just got back from a screening of BIKE (okay, this is old news already) and I'm all fired up. I want to ride, but the crowd was dissipative, and went their own ways.
Thats the way it is on bikes. we roll alone, we meet briefly. we roll apart. Sometimes we're held together and it can be a really great thing, other times its not needed.
BIKE was all about this theme. this inclusivity, this cohesiveness. this exclusivity. This love.
Tony, the film maker, spent a year and a half trying to get into NYC's Black Label bike club, and they wouldn't have him. They wouldn't have him because they didn't trust that he wanted in for the right reasons.
I've got a lot of things on my mind.
Amy brings up the bikesphere and triggers deep feelings.
"What is your main concern in the bikesphere"
Self Preservation? I talked about myself. Are we all so selfish? I want to see the community grow and thrive, but I just focus on keeping myself in running order.
I don't know where I'm going with this. This love.
Just tonight I met a guy who works in the bicycle industry. (also old news) On the mountain bike side of things. I'm curious to talk to him more. One thing he said, was that it has to be done for the love.
Also recently, I was up North, doing Projekt-B field work, and met a guy named Phillipe, who has single handedly brought bike culture to Whitehorse. He's a bike mech, he's an artist. He's changing the landscape for the better. He lives above his shop, he's doing it for the love.
It makes me wonder just where this Project will take me. Probably to the world of High fashion
Choppers, modifications.
On a human scale, its not dangerous.
Because 50km/h is not dangerous.
Where was I? Its a week later, and I just cant get this blogging thing right. Originally, this blog entry was supposed to be posted early morning on Sunday. However, that didn't pan out. Then I got busy with commuting and Solidwerking, and well, here we are at the weekend again. Except is Thursday. (or Monday, fuck)
I guess I've been watching a bunch of bike movies lately. I just got back from the Bike Shorts screening. There were 14 videos. ] Including Wendell Challenger's long line of cars. There was a great time lapse flatland one on an airstrip, and we even got to see Morgan take his pants off! One of my favorites was a 'post apocalyptic' story about THE BREATH, and how hard a good bike pump was to come by. Sadly, in this future, people are still getting killed for oil. I'm reall glad I went to this event.
So this week in bikes, I put new 600 cranks on the Bianchi, except they're not new. They're older than the ones I had, and they're shorter. I can only hope they're not just on long term loan. I also got into the dirty dirty with a middle aged guy in a minivan. I shouldn't pick on them. Its been relatively dry, so I've been rolling the Cunny to work most days. Thats right, you're Health and Safety representative is riding the brakeless unicorn. A cop spashed me with a mud puddle Tuesday. It wasn't even raining. I think he aimed for it. its just a 30cm diameter hole in Union street, that he MUST know contains muddy water. Right in the face, all over my jersey. I'm trying to catch up in kilometerage to my normal months this year, but I think I've already taken about 7 days off the bike. That really affects the numbers. I'm a nerd. pie chart. [650km total for the month]
This weekend promises to be crazy. I'm starting off with Midnight mass tonight. I better decide which bike to roll, and soon.
Tomorrow I'm going to hit the big June Critical Thrash
Edit: rain, drown rat.
I've slept, but it still feels like I've been up forever. The rainy MM, the out of control Critical mass, The scarface, the BBW, The race. its all a bit much. This guy is a writeoff. He drifts in and out of conciousness. Not sure how he rode a bike. 8.0 hoon.
Non Biased CTV mass footage:
Paris Hilton's Big Day Out, Cooper Park Checkpoint:
Edit: I think I'm ready to go back to work. edit.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Everybody's workin for the weekend!
Holy crap. Another crazy bikey weekend over here.
Friday night I picked up my new ride. N+1. I think I last posted about this on Friday afternoon, when I was giddy like a little girl over the spare parts that Steve so graciously threw in with the sale.
..well. Here's the rest of the deal:
More shots on my flickr
Saturday we did a project-Breakfast, and suprizingly everyone was able to attend. Actions were assigned, food was eaten, no resolutions were made.
After that, Nick came over to wank all over my bike with a ruler. Then I rolled out to Surrey (via rail) for their first Critical Mass ever. There was about 55 people in attendance, and the route was a leisurely loop around the Guilford area. Save for one agro dump truck traffic behaved pretty well, and the mass was a definate success.
Here's some footage from Bob Alstead:
Shortly after that, we all hit the train again, and made it back to Van for the first of the Fixedvancouver Summer Series events. This would be a skid comp, held at a super secret location in the downtown core. Check the Vids:
Big ups to NikC and Duncan for organizing this, and Simon and Joe for shooting vids.
Sunday was another excercise in growing bicycle culture. Carcass3 was held at ScratchKona park. I unfortunately was late, and only got to watch the Panty race. It was worth it however as I got to see KTJ get stuck in her pants while riding her fixie. hotness. The rest of my day was an absolute writeoff.
Tonight I intend on streeting the Cunningham for the first time. Lets hope I can find a long enough seatpost, and that the Bianchi's tires clear the frame..
Friday night I picked up my new ride. N+1. I think I last posted about this on Friday afternoon, when I was giddy like a little girl over the spare parts that Steve so graciously threw in with the sale.
..well. Here's the rest of the deal:
More shots on my flickr
Saturday we did a project-Breakfast, and suprizingly everyone was able to attend. Actions were assigned, food was eaten, no resolutions were made.
After that, Nick came over to wank all over my bike with a ruler. Then I rolled out to Surrey (via rail) for their first Critical Mass ever. There was about 55 people in attendance, and the route was a leisurely loop around the Guilford area. Save for one agro dump truck traffic behaved pretty well, and the mass was a definate success.
Here's some footage from Bob Alstead:
Shortly after that, we all hit the train again, and made it back to Van for the first of the Fixedvancouver Summer Series events. This would be a skid comp, held at a super secret location in the downtown core. Check the Vids:
Big ups to NikC and Duncan for organizing this, and Simon and Joe for shooting vids.
Sunday was another excercise in growing bicycle culture. Carcass3 was held at ScratchKona park. I unfortunately was late, and only got to watch the Panty race. It was worth it however as I got to see KTJ get stuck in her pants while riding her fixie. hotness. The rest of my day was an absolute writeoff.
Tonight I intend on streeting the Cunningham for the first time. Lets hope I can find a long enough seatpost, and that the Bianchi's tires clear the frame..
Saturday, February 24, 2007
"Skylar, take your bag and get out. Now."
Half of tomorrow's field was trashed before 7pm, and the starting grid is going to be gasping like a koi pond full of road salt. Somebody said something worth blogging about over ghetto sushi, but damned if I can remember; I may not even have a fucking rear wheel to run this shit with. And Wendell's into the sauce again.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Happenings
A few things going on this weekend:
First of all, the Margaret Charles Chopper Collective (MC3) will be having their monthly ride this evening. Meet at the Gazebo at 6:30 to get your freakbike on. This ride will finish at a Costume Party, show up for details. Bring a costume (like a walrus mask). Be fun or die.
Throughout the weekend will be the Winter Bee. Come down, attend a workshop, tune up that filthy ride. I'm doing two workshops on Saturday. Brakes and Security.
Sunday afternoon, if you're not still fixin' your bike, you should go see You Never Bike Alone. Its a documentary on Vancouver's Critical Mass rides.
Time: Sunday 11th February, 2pm (doors open 1pm)
Venue: Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street, downtown Vancouver
Tickets: $8 ($6 for Moving Pictures members)
First of all, the Margaret Charles Chopper Collective (MC3) will be having their monthly ride this evening. Meet at the Gazebo at 6:30 to get your freakbike on. This ride will finish at a Costume Party, show up for details. Bring a costume (like a walrus mask). Be fun or die.
Throughout the weekend will be the Winter Bee. Come down, attend a workshop, tune up that filthy ride. I'm doing two workshops on Saturday. Brakes and Security.
Sunday afternoon, if you're not still fixin' your bike, you should go see You Never Bike Alone. Its a documentary on Vancouver's Critical Mass rides.
Time: Sunday 11th February, 2pm (doors open 1pm)
Venue: Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street, downtown Vancouver
Tickets: $8 ($6 for Moving Pictures members)
Monday, January 29, 2007
When I say Shitshow, You say MASS!
When I say Skylar, you say CRASH!
SHITSHOW!
MASS!
SKYLAR!
CRASH!
Now we go to VGH just like that!
Hope you feel better soon Skylar. You can credit me with taking your bike apart. (Though it was Momentum Amy's bright idea)
Another hectic weekend.
Mass-drink-hospital-sleep-PedalMetal-polo-dream-primer-drink-sleep-build-ride
I began my minibike 'training' today.. which means I rode the new chopper to work.
Rather, I rode it to the skytrain, then rode it down the extremely steep Patterson hill.
Handling- predictable, with a decent turning radius
Gearing- low, but managable.
Ride- smooth, but a little bouncy while sprinting.
Tires- loud
Brake- fade
Okay.. so the brake needs a bit more work.
I'll have to get a mountain lever, and possibly file part of the caliper mount.
Right now I have the option of dragging pads, or a brake without enough power.
..and the knobby tires have got to go if I plan on keeping up with the Portlanders.
(who will incidentally be rolling 12 deep at the ALLEY KITTEN)
Minibike Winter Promo Vid:
I'm not going to get cocky just yet, but this ride feels fast... for a mini.
SHITSHOW!
MASS!
SKYLAR!
CRASH!
Now we go to VGH just like that!
Hope you feel better soon Skylar. You can credit me with taking your bike apart. (Though it was Momentum Amy's bright idea)
Another hectic weekend.
Mass-drink-hospital-sleep-PedalMetal-polo-dream-primer-drink-sleep-build-ride
I began my minibike 'training' today.. which means I rode the new chopper to work.
Rather, I rode it to the skytrain, then rode it down the extremely steep Patterson hill.
Handling- predictable, with a decent turning radius
Gearing- low, but managable.
Ride- smooth, but a little bouncy while sprinting.
Tires- loud
Brake- fade
Okay.. so the brake needs a bit more work.
I'll have to get a mountain lever, and possibly file part of the caliper mount.
Right now I have the option of dragging pads, or a brake without enough power.
..and the knobby tires have got to go if I plan on keeping up with the Portlanders.
(who will incidentally be rolling 12 deep at the ALLEY KITTEN)
Minibike Winter Promo Vid:
I'm not going to get cocky just yet, but this ride feels fast... for a mini.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Midnight Mass 1-yeariversary/November Critical Mass/Brandon learns fixed
Point form recap in somewhat chronological order (to be edited later?):
MIDNIGHT MASS:
-I got Laura and Tobi out to their first Midnight Mass. They were very excited to be there=]
-Asha made some sweet cuppin cakes.
-NikC debuted his new Pake, a solid machine if I've ever ridden one.
-Morgan shot photos while riding
-It was insanely cold. Wool socks don't cut it. time for booties.
-The Cemetary is a perfect spot to stop
-Rhiannon's bike lost its front derailleur cable sometime before the Crescent, and she was pretty bummed. I set the bottom of travel limiter so that she could use the middle ring. Hopefully she had an alright ride home.
-N1ck switched it up from Rye to Brandy. A welcome change.
-For some reason, after saying they were going to Cambie/Broadway, the pack went west. Morgan and I broke off and headed North on Granville, then back to Eastvan on Broadway. No Pizza could be found.
-I was a zombie at work on Friday.
-THRILLER! THRILLLLER!
CRITICAL MASS:
-After work I headed back to Morgan's work, and met up with him again.
We picked up some supplies for Critical Mess on Main street.
-Somehow I overshot Howe downtown, and that made getting to the art gallery much more difficult than usual
-There was only a couple hundred people at the mass. Just the hardcores.
-I helped clot the Granville bridge. The first guy to stop REALLY didn't want to stop, and made me a littled worried for my safety. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
-I didn't really like the vibe of this mass. I guess the percentage of vocals was up, due to the cold weather.
-Nick3 bombed the yellow line of Burrard on his Penny Farthing. Nearly took out my arm with a spinning pedal
-I met up with him on the bridge, and after boosting his ego, watched him go over the bars and taco the Penny's wheel
-We threw our bikes over the side of the bridge to stop and help.
-After unsuccessfully trying to do a quick bend and tension of the wheel, we determined we'd have to stop, and do a complete tensioning.
-I got to work, Morgan shot photos, Ifny and Nick3 cracked the beer
(see flickr)
-I was glad to stop and help Nick3. The mass passed, and we had no intention of catching up. This was fine by me. I'd rather just get this Penny mobile again.
-We got it running! The wheel held, and Nick said it felt better than before! GO CHEAP TAIWANESE SPOKE KEY! (who knew I would ever use any size besides the ill fitting 14 gauge)
-While on a Freshly taco'ed then trued Penny Farthing, Nick bombed the lane down from the bridge to Beach avenue. His footjamming technique is oustanding. Tokyo drift style with the consequence of hitting a concrete wall. I am officially blown away. I have never witnessed such riding. (and I've seen unicycle trials!)
-We made it to the Anza and waited for the mass...and drank, and rode the penny. I felt heroic.
-Half the mass finally arrived. Just half? Where was the rest?
-At Budgies of course. Don't you know theres a burrito eating competition and bands playing?
-That burrito was SOOOO good.
-The fact that bands played at a TINY burrito counter still amuses me.
-Camillo spent the entire time trying to convince us to have a skid competition. I wasn't too sure about it.
-Eventually, he voiced his plan well enough to convince us.
-5 of us rode up to Kings-tenth, with plans to bomb down the hill, and lock up at the North crosswalk, hopefully skidding all the way back down to Budgies.
-We timed the light, and locked em up.
-The bus pulled out behind me while I skidded. James' tire grabbed traction and tried to buck him. Morgan had perfect technique... and it happened. Camillo went down!
-Instantly, a guy in an Echo got out and steadied Camillo's neck, telling him not to move.
-The ambulance arrived in under a minute and a half. Impressive.
-Despite not wearing a helmet, Camillo was okay.. apart from being a drunken bloody mess.
-Convieniently I ran into Kim at this point. Not sure if she saw the ambulance. I felt sheepish for some reason.
-The crowd was starting to thin, and the band kind of sucked, so we headed back to the Anza to check the scene. Nick3 gave me a hug. Aww.
-It was then determined that more biking was in order. a Crew of 5 (Skylar, James, Matt, Morgan and I) decided to hit the club scene downtown.
-We scared pedestrians at crosswalks with our impeccable style. You cant touch this.
-That giant Pizza place is perfect for bringing in bikes.
-more crosswalks were carved. ..as were some road blocks.
-I found it funny when the cop yelled for us to 'GET BACK IN THE BIKE LANE' when not 100m ahead, was a long line of cars idling in that bike lane.
-Back at the gazebo we finished off Matts last beer.
-Strangely a curious boy in a wheelchair rolled up. He was nice enough, asking about our bikes.. and what were we doing out so late.. WHAT WAS HE DOING OUT SO LATE? He was like 14!?!?! Roll on, kiddo.
-Arriving home, I was still amped from such a fun night of riding.
Brandon learns fixed:
-The next day we Met up with Brandon at Morgan's work. He needed a 'crash' course in fixed gear riding, so he borrowed Morgan's bike. I took him around the cemetary a few times, then over to QE park, then the crescent, then to MEC.
-I exchanged the booties for some XLs and they work like a charm. My feet have never been toastier.
-Brandon took to the fixie like I knew he would. Only one attempted bucking from the Sekine.
-and then.. it started to snow. By the time I made it home that evening, it was REALLY coming down. I was covered, as was my bike.
-Sadly, I haven't ridden my bike since that night. Its glare ice, and I've been dreaming about studded tires.
MIDNIGHT MASS:
-I got Laura and Tobi out to their first Midnight Mass. They were very excited to be there=]
-Asha made some sweet cuppin cakes.
-NikC debuted his new Pake, a solid machine if I've ever ridden one.
-Morgan shot photos while riding
-It was insanely cold. Wool socks don't cut it. time for booties.
-The Cemetary is a perfect spot to stop
-Rhiannon's bike lost its front derailleur cable sometime before the Crescent, and she was pretty bummed. I set the bottom of travel limiter so that she could use the middle ring. Hopefully she had an alright ride home.
-N1ck switched it up from Rye to Brandy. A welcome change.
-For some reason, after saying they were going to Cambie/Broadway, the pack went west. Morgan and I broke off and headed North on Granville, then back to Eastvan on Broadway. No Pizza could be found.
-I was a zombie at work on Friday.
-THRILLER! THRILLLLER!
CRITICAL MASS:
-After work I headed back to Morgan's work, and met up with him again.
We picked up some supplies for Critical Mess on Main street.
-Somehow I overshot Howe downtown, and that made getting to the art gallery much more difficult than usual
-There was only a couple hundred people at the mass. Just the hardcores.
-I helped clot the Granville bridge. The first guy to stop REALLY didn't want to stop, and made me a littled worried for my safety. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
-I didn't really like the vibe of this mass. I guess the percentage of vocals was up, due to the cold weather.
-Nick3 bombed the yellow line of Burrard on his Penny Farthing. Nearly took out my arm with a spinning pedal
-I met up with him on the bridge, and after boosting his ego, watched him go over the bars and taco the Penny's wheel
-We threw our bikes over the side of the bridge to stop and help.
-After unsuccessfully trying to do a quick bend and tension of the wheel, we determined we'd have to stop, and do a complete tensioning.
-I got to work, Morgan shot photos, Ifny and Nick3 cracked the beer
(see flickr)
-I was glad to stop and help Nick3. The mass passed, and we had no intention of catching up. This was fine by me. I'd rather just get this Penny mobile again.
-We got it running! The wheel held, and Nick said it felt better than before! GO CHEAP TAIWANESE SPOKE KEY! (who knew I would ever use any size besides the ill fitting 14 gauge)
-While on a Freshly taco'ed then trued Penny Farthing, Nick bombed the lane down from the bridge to Beach avenue. His footjamming technique is oustanding. Tokyo drift style with the consequence of hitting a concrete wall. I am officially blown away. I have never witnessed such riding. (and I've seen unicycle trials!)
-We made it to the Anza and waited for the mass...and drank, and rode the penny. I felt heroic.
-Half the mass finally arrived. Just half? Where was the rest?
-At Budgies of course. Don't you know theres a burrito eating competition and bands playing?
-That burrito was SOOOO good.
-The fact that bands played at a TINY burrito counter still amuses me.
-Camillo spent the entire time trying to convince us to have a skid competition. I wasn't too sure about it.
-Eventually, he voiced his plan well enough to convince us.
-5 of us rode up to Kings-tenth, with plans to bomb down the hill, and lock up at the North crosswalk, hopefully skidding all the way back down to Budgies.
-We timed the light, and locked em up.
-The bus pulled out behind me while I skidded. James' tire grabbed traction and tried to buck him. Morgan had perfect technique... and it happened. Camillo went down!
-Instantly, a guy in an Echo got out and steadied Camillo's neck, telling him not to move.
-The ambulance arrived in under a minute and a half. Impressive.
-Despite not wearing a helmet, Camillo was okay.. apart from being a drunken bloody mess.
-Convieniently I ran into Kim at this point. Not sure if she saw the ambulance. I felt sheepish for some reason.
-The crowd was starting to thin, and the band kind of sucked, so we headed back to the Anza to check the scene. Nick3 gave me a hug. Aww.
-It was then determined that more biking was in order. a Crew of 5 (Skylar, James, Matt, Morgan and I) decided to hit the club scene downtown.
-We scared pedestrians at crosswalks with our impeccable style. You cant touch this.
-That giant Pizza place is perfect for bringing in bikes.
-more crosswalks were carved. ..as were some road blocks.
-I found it funny when the cop yelled for us to 'GET BACK IN THE BIKE LANE' when not 100m ahead, was a long line of cars idling in that bike lane.
-Back at the gazebo we finished off Matts last beer.
-Strangely a curious boy in a wheelchair rolled up. He was nice enough, asking about our bikes.. and what were we doing out so late.. WHAT WAS HE DOING OUT SO LATE? He was like 14!?!?! Roll on, kiddo.
-Arriving home, I was still amped from such a fun night of riding.
Brandon learns fixed:
-The next day we Met up with Brandon at Morgan's work. He needed a 'crash' course in fixed gear riding, so he borrowed Morgan's bike. I took him around the cemetary a few times, then over to QE park, then the crescent, then to MEC.
-I exchanged the booties for some XLs and they work like a charm. My feet have never been toastier.
-Brandon took to the fixie like I knew he would. Only one attempted bucking from the Sekine.
-and then.. it started to snow. By the time I made it home that evening, it was REALLY coming down. I was covered, as was my bike.
-Sadly, I haven't ridden my bike since that night. Its glare ice, and I've been dreaming about studded tires.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
More like the Crap Courier.
Four days a week, I ride my bike to Cap College in North Van. Among other things, I'm involved with the Environmental Issues Committee, which allows me to give bikers on campus a voice that can be heard. I'm known there to be a bike nut, which would be an understatement. This semester, the school newspaper - the Cap Courier - contracted a dude to write a weekly article on Vancouver bike culture. Not such a bad idea; in fact, a great idea, I thought.
This story starts at the last Midnight Mass of September. Skylar, Nick, and myself had arrived pretty early, and ended up being the first ones there. We congregated at the north side of Grandview Park, waiting for people to show up. A few did... and then, by himself, an extremely drunk guy named Mike - bragging about how much he'd drank already. Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with drinking and riding. However, I'm not one to show up to an event where I don't know anyone in a state such as I've just described.
That night we headed west, along the south side of False Creek, ending up at the east end of Jericho Beach. We stopped near a concession building to hang out for a bit. Some people climbed on the roof of the building: DRP, and, I was told, that drunk guy. Shortly thereafter, Vancouver's finest showed up. The officer was very civil in informing Simon and myself that people lived in the concession building. We apologized and gathered the group to head eastward.
At this point you're probably wondering why I went on such a tangent, so I'll cut to the chase.
The next issue of the Cap Courier had a great looking cover that was a bike wheel shaped like a heart, and a headline about bike culture. At quick glance, I noticed there was an article on both Midnight Mass and Critical Mass. The introduction states that he was given the task of writing articles about Vancouver bike culture; being a regular at both the aforementioned events, I was stoked to read it. However, it turns out that the guy writing the articles is the inebriated moron named Mike who I'd met at Grandview Park.
The Midnight Mass article is a bunch of bullshit. He talks about how, since he'd seen a picture of someone with a flask on the Midnight Mass blog, he'd come to the conclusion that it was a drunkfest. He notes the highlight as his camaraderie with DRP. The guy went incognito to the ride, and didn't even talk to the organizer or prominent attendees about what it was all about. Way to go, champ. Great coverage of the ride. Way to miss the point that Midnight Mass is a group of friends who are very open to meeting new people, and like to explore the city on bikes.
Next up was the article on Critical Mass. For anybody that happened to be there, Mike was the guy handing out the "Attention: Critical Mass Cancelled" fliers. I thought the gesture was funny at the time, but it turns out that I'd misinterpreted his message. The article goes off with his opinion that Critical Mass isn't good for bike culture, blah blah blah. I do agree that it's a debatable topic, but this clearly pre-conceived anti-Critical Mass position was not what I was expecting in an article covering the event.
Now, I don't work for the Cap Courier, but was I wrong to anticipate objective articles about these events rather than the ignorant and sensationalized pieces of garbage that were published? Furthermore, his subsequent articles have deteriorated to the point that the most recent one wasn't even about bikes (though he mentions that it should have been). As a cycling advocate who is actively involved in bike culture, I'm disappointed in the inaccurate portrayal of the bike scene by the Cap Courier. Not only does it reflect poorly on bike culture, but on the paper as well. This entry to the blago-blogo-webo-sphere is a longer version of a letter that I'll be sending to the paper. If anything else comes of it, I'll be sure to report back.
Morgman out.
This story starts at the last Midnight Mass of September. Skylar, Nick, and myself had arrived pretty early, and ended up being the first ones there. We congregated at the north side of Grandview Park, waiting for people to show up. A few did... and then, by himself, an extremely drunk guy named Mike - bragging about how much he'd drank already. Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with drinking and riding. However, I'm not one to show up to an event where I don't know anyone in a state such as I've just described.
That night we headed west, along the south side of False Creek, ending up at the east end of Jericho Beach. We stopped near a concession building to hang out for a bit. Some people climbed on the roof of the building: DRP, and, I was told, that drunk guy. Shortly thereafter, Vancouver's finest showed up. The officer was very civil in informing Simon and myself that people lived in the concession building. We apologized and gathered the group to head eastward.
At this point you're probably wondering why I went on such a tangent, so I'll cut to the chase.
The next issue of the Cap Courier had a great looking cover that was a bike wheel shaped like a heart, and a headline about bike culture. At quick glance, I noticed there was an article on both Midnight Mass and Critical Mass. The introduction states that he was given the task of writing articles about Vancouver bike culture; being a regular at both the aforementioned events, I was stoked to read it. However, it turns out that the guy writing the articles is the inebriated moron named Mike who I'd met at Grandview Park.
The Midnight Mass article is a bunch of bullshit. He talks about how, since he'd seen a picture of someone with a flask on the Midnight Mass blog, he'd come to the conclusion that it was a drunkfest. He notes the highlight as his camaraderie with DRP. The guy went incognito to the ride, and didn't even talk to the organizer or prominent attendees about what it was all about. Way to go, champ. Great coverage of the ride. Way to miss the point that Midnight Mass is a group of friends who are very open to meeting new people, and like to explore the city on bikes.
Next up was the article on Critical Mass. For anybody that happened to be there, Mike was the guy handing out the "Attention: Critical Mass Cancelled" fliers. I thought the gesture was funny at the time, but it turns out that I'd misinterpreted his message. The article goes off with his opinion that Critical Mass isn't good for bike culture, blah blah blah. I do agree that it's a debatable topic, but this clearly pre-conceived anti-Critical Mass position was not what I was expecting in an article covering the event.
Now, I don't work for the Cap Courier, but was I wrong to anticipate objective articles about these events rather than the ignorant and sensationalized pieces of garbage that were published? Furthermore, his subsequent articles have deteriorated to the point that the most recent one wasn't even about bikes (though he mentions that it should have been). As a cycling advocate who is actively involved in bike culture, I'm disappointed in the inaccurate portrayal of the bike scene by the Cap Courier. Not only does it reflect poorly on bike culture, but on the paper as well. This entry to the blago-blogo-webo-sphere is a longer version of a letter that I'll be sending to the paper. If anything else comes of it, I'll be sure to report back.
Morgman out.
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