Shred-Well

Back in the day when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a track bike, I rode skateboards. I would sit in chemistry class and dream of lines, sequential tricks that I could hit at my favorite spots. Those were my favorite parts of videos as well. Sure, the big stairs and gaps were cool but a long line shows a riders imagination and skill.

After seeing Shred-Well from The Grime I was totally impressed with the way trick track riding is going. There are lots of lines and lots of big stuff, as in 15-stair big.

SHRED-WELL from Mike Schmitt on Vimeo.

I also really love when riders use their environment, pulling tricks where you never expect it. That's part of the reason I switched to singlespeed. Riding is about having fun as well as commuting. When I'm riding fixed I feel as though I'm just pedaling. If I were to try a trick I would have to slow down and make sure my feet are in the right position. With a singlespeed I don't slow down, and with 35mm cross tires I plow through whatever I want, allowing me to use even more of my environment, the non-paved part.

Really though, fixed, singlespeed, whatever. It's practical. I can commute, I can do tricks on the same bike.

Nashville Opensprints

I just got this forward from Candice in Nashville:

Subject: BYOV Sprint Races! Jan 31st at Springwater (5PM)
To: Nashville Urban Bicycle League



Whether you're roadie, fixie, mountainie, or stepthroughie, you can
pedal. So get ready to pedal your gluts off in Nashville's first
opensprint races.

Not sure what this all means. Four racers will spin on roller mounted
fixed gears, all connected to a central computer, until a winner
crosses the digital finish line, or their kneecaps explode. The more
riders, the better the party. Bring your girlfriends, boyfriends...
anyone that can pedal has a chance in this mad house. Races will be
one to two minute all out sprints.

Come to yell at your friends as their legs fill with lactic acid!
Prizes will be awarded, and the ones and twos will be spinning too so
bring along your greatest vinyl. Forget iTunes playlist, we're gonna
ride the safety dance this night!

We're bidding a big farewell to Scumlife John as he's soon heading off
to Burbank, CA and a happy homecoming vacation as Nathan's set to be
in town that weekend.

After the races, madness will surely follow as the mob rolls on for
some food then commences crashing every party in Nashville that night!
18 hours of superbowl pre-game, not that you hipster kids are
interested!

Pass the word

Now the fine print: We'll have bikes in varying sizes to ride at the
event that will be attached to the rollers. You can swap your bike, or
bring your own pedals if you have clips, but you must be rolling a
48x16 with 160cranks. No unfair advantages, but I'm sure that some
emergency wrenching will be going down to get the bikes to spec.

The 31st is a Saturday and unfortunately, I won't be getting off work until 5. But I enourage anyone who can make the drive to do it, talk to everyone there and have a great time. Hopefully in the future they'll have it at a later time.

Polo Sundays

Thanks to all who came out for the impromptu games of bike polo this evening. Sorry for those who didn't get the message, it just means no one has your phone number. This is going to be a weekly event so get into it. Every Sunday at 5pm behind the Peddler Bike Shop on Highland. There are plenty of mallets so don't worry about bringing one, unless of course you want to make your own stealth stick. The shop will be closed so come prepared.

My new frame

It might be a while before you see this out on the streets. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to be dressing this with.

In the meantime, as an addendum to my previous post asking four questions for Driven Magazine, could anyone who sends me an email please include a picture of their bike. Thanks guys and girls!

Thank you everyone!

To start: Thanks to everyone who made it out! Jonesboro guys: Sorry you didn't make it to the finish/afterparty; we cheers'd you for coming out and having fun.
Next: All you guys who said you'd be there: Pat Boyd, Alex Carr (We really missed you and your house!), Jonathan Cisco, Rocky (to name a few; but mainly Pat Boyd who I talked to almost every day before the race and who said he'd be there...) you guys missed a super fun race and really good beer and pizza. Your loss, DICKS!
Finally and ESPECIALLY: Thanks to all of the volunteers: Alona and Wes, Matthew Writt from the Memphis Flyer, and Kermit. This would not have happened without your initials. And extra thanks to Terie B. from Driven Magazine for including our small world in her wonderful publication.

The race started with 9 laps around the East High School Track. The racers had to drink a beer before, during, or after their 9 laps. They were then given a manifest consisting of 4 checkpoints and a final destination: 208 North Main, 209 South Main, a Grocery Store (their choice) where they had to purchase a can of black-eyed peas, the U of M Clock Tower, and the final destination of Midtown Bikes. Two different manifests were handed out which had the checkpoints in reverse order.

Enjoy these few photos and check out the rest of the sets:




The Results:

1st Place: Chris Spencer
2nd Place: Russ "Shithead" Griffin (Should not have taken backroads.)
3rd Place: Isaiah Flowers (who stopped at home to get his ipod)

1st (and only) Girl: Erica

1st Cruiser: NOBODY

1st Hurl: NOBODY (Really, I was totally expecting someone to evacuate stomach.)

Most awesome part of the race: Beer handoff to Russ Griffin. (The man knows how to caress a bottle.)

Kermit's set HERE.
Fix Memphis set HERE.
Matthew Writt's set HERE.
More sets to come.

Stay tuned for a February "Tour De Pizza Cafe" with everyone's favorite cross-country traveler Sean Quigley.

Happy New Year!

See you all at 1 this afternoon!

If there's too much snow on the ground

Yeah I know, at first snow here we're all out on our bikes or falling off of them but there are probably some places where there is too much snow or some people who don't like riding in the cold weather. Whatever this guy's deal is he's used his indoor time wisely:



Kinda looks like Sasha Barr to me.

Happy New Gears 2009

It works like this: meet at East High Track, ride nine laps, having a beer before, during or after. When your nine laps is complete you will get a manifest for the rest of the race.

Pay attention to the bag, lock and extra $3.

Email fixmemphis@yahoo.com if you would like to volunteer.

Call for Volunteers

We're looking for people to help run checkpoints for the January 1st Alleycat. This may or may not involve dressing in a costume, taking pictures, getting (re)drunk, or explosives. If this sounds like something you can do then send an email to fixmemphis@yahoo.com.

Fuji Track Frame on Craigslist

A gent by the name of Kenny just moved back from Japan and brought this back with him:



It's a 53cm frame, track dropouts. Wheels not included, but some quality components otherwise. Check the specs here and give him a call if you're interested.

Couples Trackstanding

Rolling Up:


Hands on saddles:


Switch to wheel, putting leg through frame:


Leg through frame on crank pedal, other foot on other bike's pedal, foot on chainstay:


Deciding how to switch bikes:


This really works better with more people, and I've atually switched to someone else's bike.

Keep it smooth, y'all

It looks like the roller/trainer season is upon us. Rain and 40º temps (the horror!) for the next few months may keep a few of us inside. Anyway, here's some inspiration for those long hours - keep it smooth, y'all.

Fixed Gear Components at Peddler

It's been a while but we're finally restocking our MKS Sylvan Track Pedals and we're also getting a few Soma Oppy XX Four Gate toe clips in black and the double straps to go with them.



We also have a lot of other stuff in the store. If we don't have it we can always order it, as can any other shop in Memphis. Because it's better support the LBS than to pay the shipping yourself.

Cycleterror Pictures!

The set can be found here.

Thank You New Orleans!!

Denis, Erica, Emily and I just rolled in from New Orleans where we had a fucking blast! Our new friend Paul put together one of the most elaborate races: witches brewing in a cauldron, Jason, riding as the "headless cyclist", dancing to "Thriller", getting mummy-wrapped, digging through someone's guts... And those were just SOME of the checkpoints. Denis will have to tell you more about it because my weak gear and my weak legs couldn't hold his pace. Thankfully I didn't get lost. What was amazing was the traffic; the cars are so used to pedestrians and cyclists. We were weaving in and out of cars and buses and people and going wrong ways on one-way streets; so much fun! And the cops didn't give a shit! (as opposed to Memphis, where the first part of our alleycat several of us got pulled over for running a red light!) However the streets are terrible; they should just be called potholes with a little bit of street in them. Regardless, Denis finished 1st out of towner and 3rd overall!

We called it an early night Friday then spent all day Saturday riding around the French Quarter (Emily really liked weaving through traffic!), eating great food and Denis and I picked up on some polo matches while the girls shopped. We each won two of our three matches. We finished the day with beignets at Cafe Du Monde and a chill moment of the levee.

Pictures of the race, costumes, and everything will be up soon. Thanks again to everyone who welcomed us into their community, especially Paul, Russell, Willie, Daniel, Gabe, Lando and everyone who's name I forgot!

Devil's Advocate Results

So from my memory this is how the race ended:

1st: Josh Ryan
2nd: Cort (1st fixed)
3rd: Zac Taylor

Girls:

1st: Alona Lerman
2nd: Emily Greenberg (1st fixed)
3rd: Ray (sorry girl, I don't know your last name)

Thanks to pilot for the snapshot of the afterparty line-up. If anyone has pictures please label them with "Memphis", "Devil's Advocates" "Halloween" and "alleycat". Then let me know 'bout it.

Thanks to Denis and Chase for putting it together. It was tremendous fun!

$300 Fixed Gear!

Schwinn is offering probably the most base fixed gear bicycle available for 2009.

Pros: Sealed hubs (The Langster doesn't offer this), the 1 1/8 threaded headset can be converted to threadless with a little bit of money (which I would recommend after seeing Chase's bent fork*)

Cons: Semi sealed BB, crankset is cheap

Projections say the bike should be available now, but at this price good luck getting your hands on one. Here are all of the specs.

See what other people are saying over at urbanvelo.org.

*Caveats: Chase was jumping down a 3-set and his fork is about 20yrs old.

Memphis Downs 3 Race Results & Pictures!!

Thanks to everyone that came out for the events and an extra special thanks to all of our sponsors, especially Chuey Brand who did not make it onto the flyer. The results for the races are as follows:

Memphis Downs Garage Alleycat

Denis Raml - 18pts.
Chase Hardin - 17
Josh Gorman - 16
Matt Rogers - 15
Joel Glasgow - 14
Kermit Dyer - 13
Zach Taylor - 12
Isaiah Flowers - 11
Josh Ryan - 10
Eric Garcia - 9
Patrick Wilson - 8
John Evans - 7
Zach Crandall - 6
Emil Orth - 5
Parker Davis - 4
Ryan Mitchell - 3
Andy Jameson - 2
Anthony Siracusa - 1

For Bike Polo:

Kermit, Josh Gorman, and Cort - 4pts
Matt, Mike, and Andy - 3pts
Denis, Martin, and Jason - 2pts
Anthony, Chase, and Parker - 2pts

Skids:

Josh Gorman - 7pts
Chase - 6
Cort - 5
Parker - 4
Denis - 3
Ray - 2
Eric - 1

Footdown:

Denis - 11
Chase - 10
Kermit - 9
Cort - 8
Josh Groman - 7
Parker - 6
Ray - 5
Eric - 4
Emily - 3
Andy - 2
Matt - 2

Overall Points Winners:

Chase Hardin - 36pts
Denis Raml - 35
Josh Gorman - 34
Kermit Dyer - 27
Matt Rogers - 20

Ray swept the girls competition and came out with some beautiful prizes.

Hope everyone had a great time and we'll see you for the next one!






The entire set here!

And one more change of address

The Fun and Games event for tonight will be happening at Revolutions Co-Op. It's a wonderful place for footdown and skids as we learned at the MASH Premier. The weather looks great so we'll see you at 6pm.

Yet another change of address

Bike Polo will be behind the Peddler on Highland tonight. Bring $5 if you haven't paid for everything. Mallets are taken care of.

Oh, and everyone who came to movie night got a point.

See you at 7!