Bike Polo Tonight

Hopefully. Yesterday AB was practicing and hit the ball between a brick wall and a wooden fence. I have no idea how it happened. So he's going to get us another ball today. Five pm sharp, behind the Peddler. The weather's great and we have fresh mallets AND a new player. Get your assets there.

Memphis Critical Mass Tonight

I'm presuming that the ride will leave from it's normal location at the west entrance of Overton Park (Poplar and Tucker) at 6pm, but the website says stay tuned for details. Check http://memphiscriticalmass.blogspot.com/ for further info.

Bicycle Film Festival Meeting

Tonight at Alona's on Nelson at 6:00, BYOB. See ya there!

Mike Crum is getting press

Some of you know that our friend Mike has been making frames for a little bit. The Commercial Appeal recently ran a story about him. I know you won't be able to get into his shop but if you want to see his work he has a track frame at the co-op which Dennis is painting. Two birds, one stone: see Mike's frame and Dennis's paint booth. The co-op is open tonight from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

How to avoid back sweat this summer.

Really there's nothing like a good cycling jersey. They're lightweight, wicking, have pockets on the back, and if you try you can find one that won't make you look like a member of Star Fleet. But sometimes you want to wear your favorite t-shirt. Throw on your messenger bag and you have a sweat bandolier and a soaking back. I got tired of it last year so I ordered 2 Timbuk2 accessory cases:



One holds a tube and the other holds CO2, tire levers, Surly Jethro Tool, tire boots, and a multitool. They easily strap around my belt and are small enough that I can leave them on all day and not notice. But they still leave me keeping my wallet and phone in my pockets.

Several people have asked about other options and I point them towards Fabric Horse who supplied us with some u-lock holsters and other merch for Memphis Downs 3. Their utility belts have enough pockets and an integrated u-lock holster for a day bike/hike.



That might be a little too much for some riders. Then sometime last week Corey sent me a link for Transient Bags. This seems to be the middle ground.



What's funny is that when you click on the pictures for the Mini, all of the flat fix stuff disappears and you're left with iPod, Blackberry, cigs, papers and lighter; you know, the important stuff(?)

In a related note, as I mashed a stop this morning my cog slid back a bit. My lockring caught it but it made me realize several things: suicide hubs are dangerous, front brakes are good (as I used mine for the rest of the commute), and the only tool I could have used that I don't have is a lock ring tool. So I ordered Pedro's Trixie Fixed Tool today.



Now I just have to fit that into a hip bag.

Save The Date: August 22nd Midnight Classic

The Meritan Midnight Classic returns this year after an evaluative hiatus. After meeting with several bicycle community representatives a couple of months ago, Meritan has decided to schedule the 2009 Midnight Classic for August 22nd in an attempt to gain more riders. Meritan is hopeful that this later date will attract more high school and college students returning for the academic year.

I sound like a real reporter!

BFF Planning Meeting Tonight

6pm at Alona's house. Alona will not be there but Lelyn will be hosting.

Study Links Alcohol and Bicycle Deaths

Some 21 percent of autopsies for New York City bicyclists who died within three hours of their accidents detected alcohol in the body, according to a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene study that examined fatal bicycling accidents in New York City from 1996 to 2005. Linky.

It doesn't seem like a very good study, but it certainly raises questions about the role aware, defensive riding can play in mitigating accidents with cars. I'm not trying to preach or anything (y'all know me), just thought I'd offer something to talk about besides the bike lanes to nowhere.

If you find yourself at the MOMA...

My awesome knight in shining armor at work, Elisabeth, told me about this excellent program that the Museum of Modern Art does on Monday nights. Apparentley the artworld (the one i live in)is really getting involved in the bike scene and getting green. If you find yourself in New York on April 6th, ride yourself over to the MOMA and you'll get free bike valet parking and 1/2 off of admission just for travelling on two wheels. They are also raffling off a collapsible Strida 5.0 bicycle!

Also, if you ride your bike to the Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on any day you get a dollar off of admission!

Tour of the Memphis Greenline on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vje_2WVkYg&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for pointing this out Anthony. I can't wait to ride it!

Bicycle Film Festival at the Brooks Museum of Art!!!

I received an email this morning from Fix's mom informing me that the Brooks Museum of Art has posted the BFF dates and summary of the events on their website!

Here's the link-check it out and buy your tickets early!


http://www.brooksmuseum.com/events

Totally Awesome

I met the guys behind this while in DC for the Bike Summit. They are taking work with kids and bicycles to a whole new level. See below.


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PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 1, 2009

SOCAL HIGH SCHOOL GETS VELODROME AND TRACK RACING PROGRAM
Contact: Matt Fritzinger, fritz@socaldirt.org, (510) 653-2453, www.socaldirt.org

Cedar Glen, CA – Last night, with a 7-2 vote, the school board of Mountain Top High School approved the construction of the first ever high school velodrome and scholastic track program in America. The decision serves as a historic milestone in the main-streaming of competitive cycling in secondary schools across the state of California. While high school mountain biking has been picking up steam since 2001 with the formation of the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League, track racing looks to be the next alternative for high schoolers eager for sports that suit their short attention spans.

"Mountain biking is an endurance sport and except for the occasional sprint finish, it favors athletes with slow-twitch muscles leaving young cyclists with the genetic gift of more fast-twitch muscles feeling devalued. I'm very pleased to see this new discipline brought into the schools," commented Matt Fritzinger, director of the Northern California mountain biking program.

In what may draw some criticism, the velodrome will replace the astro-turf field and football program. MTHS’s Head football Coach, Don Boggs commented "I'm keeping an open mind here. After two losing seasons, I don't get much say around here anyway. I'm also very impressed with the way cycling is addressing the problem of performance enhancing drugs." Unlike professional football, which penalizes wealthy players with meager fines and has led to a vast abuse of steroids at the high school level, professional and amateur bike racers face 2-4 year bans from the sport.

School Superintendant, Jim Swift, said “I advocated for this as soon as I saw the cost-benefit analysis. A velodrome is going to cost $1.8 trillion whereas a stadium retrofit and new astroturf was going to cost us $1.9 trillion. That may seem like a small difference, but that's actually $100 billion dollars. We can buy quite a few books and computers for that much money.”

Additionally, it appears that track racing will become a natural complement to the recently inaugurated Socal Interscholastic Cycling League that only includes mountain biking currently. Board president Quintin Easton commented, “I’m stoked -– we put the generic term 'cycling' in the League name because we planned to incorporate various disciplines into the League. This velodrome is a dream come true!”

About the Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League
The SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League was organized to provide a well-defined race season for junior racers and to promote the formation of teams at public and private high schools. With the cooperation of local race promoters and our sponsors, the League organizes a first class series of races designed for high school aged riders. The League is working to make high school racing the easiest way for juniors to get involved in the challenging and exciting world of competitive cycling. The SoCal League was founded with a generous grant from the Easton Sports Development Foundation II (ESDF II) and is supported by other generous sponsors such as founding national sponsor Specialized Bicycle Components, results cranked out by Shimano, Bike Magazine, CLIF Bar, Crank Brothers, Hincapie Sportswear, Tifosi, Trek, and WTB. For more information on the League, contact Quintin Easton at quintin@socaldirt.org and 949.285.0316 Website: http://www.socaldirt.org

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4412 Piedmont Ave. #1, Oakland CA 94611

Hey Ladies!

Girls Ride Tonight!!! Meet at 8:30 at Megan Miller's casa!!! We may be going from Megan's house to Overton Park and then possibly ride around a little. I encourage everyone to bring a small bottle of tequila and empty water bottle because we have a bottle of Margherita mix that goes bad at the end of April and we need to kill it. Also, handsome gentleman allowed.

Looking forward to seeing all of you there!