It's Alive!!!

Wheel Covers: removed. Drive: fixed. Pedals: Hold Fast'd. Tires: knobified.
I've been thinking about a fixed monstercross for a while now and seeing as how my polo bike just wasn't handling the abuse I decided it was time to operate. Switched back to my Sugino crankset with a 39 ring paired with a 19 tooth cog in the back. 700 x 42 knobby tires just barely fit. I actually think I need to space out the rear hub a little bit more. Colony pedals because I needed some that are Hold Fast compatible, my Odyssey Twisted's are not. Hold Fast straps are legit. So it's been set up for about a week but today was it's first real ride.

Em and I set out on the Greenline this morning and I dipped off onto the blue trail (Wolf River Trail) as she continued straight to Shelby Farms. This was my first time riding that section of trail, my first time riding that bike on a trail, and my first time riding fixed on a trail. Perfect. Everything. Okay, there's that one narrow bridge at the bottom of the hill with that 100 degree turn leading right into it that I felt safer walking and only one of the sand pits stopped me but other than that it was way fun.


More pics on my flickr.

RIP Polo Bike

The final straw for my polo bike came last week when a dude from Richmond was riding it and the rear brake bolt sheared in two. Then I tried to play on Brett's Surly 1x1 and dipped the front shock, wrecked, and rolled my ankle sumthin' awful. I'm taking this time to evaluate the future of this bike and contemplate a more modern polo bike(?) (quill stems can go to hell). This is what happened to the brake:


...and Brett borrowed my rear tire after his flat. And speaking of Brett and Polo, he's amped about the South Central Championships in Little Rock. Though I'm sure my ankle will be rebuilt bionically by then, I'll be attending Judaism class that Sunday. It's unfortunate in that I'll miss the jaw-drops from New Orleans and Florida as they witness the superior skill level of Memphis Polo. Paul Danos, Daniel Dilberger, Adult Braces (though I heard those are off now), you guys are in for a treat.

New Skateboard

A few months back my friend PJ ran off with my cruiser board. It was a pretty sweet ride that I've had since my first semester of college which was, uh, a while ago. It was just an ATM Blank but I did some sweet tiger stripes on the grip (Memphis!), Indy trucks and 70mm Kryptonics. Heavy, but perfect for cruising to the beer store because sometimes it's more trouble to grab a bike, lock it, ride back one handed (if I don't take a bag or the cruiser avec basket). But since it left I've only had my regular board. So I totally got myself a present. Toy Machine deck, Venture trucks, 65mm Kryptonics. I went with the Venture Lows because I wanted this to be as light as I could make it and feel as much like a regular board as it could. It's nice, nice, nice.




This board is for cruising only, no fix-pushing:

Props to Cara

Big ups to Cara for representing female fixed freestyle riders in Issue 23 of Urban Velo! She rides hard, writes on Gotta Be Gritty and Candy Cranks and knows her gear. Keep it goin', girl!

Tweed Ride to the Memphis Brooks Museum - Jan. 20th

Memphis's third Tweed Ride (facebook event page)is taking place on Thursday January 20th. The ride leaves the Peddler Bike Shop on Highland at 6:30pm and rides to the Brooks Museum to see the British Television Advertising Awards. If you need some ideas on the appropriate attire watch these videos:

Bicycle Swap Meet

Check the facebook event page for all the up-to-date info!

Your 29er is so small!

I would totally commute on this thing, The Blonde Fabrications Amazon Blonde 36er:



Comparing it to a 26":



More info!

Toothpastefordinner, then polo.

Special Thursday Night polo session. 7pm. Bluff City Sports.

Memphis Bicycle Polo in the CA

Read the article here.

There are some good pictures of us playing. Future photos will look a little different because of last night's mallet workshop:


And a video:


More photos on my flickr.

On a side note: The picture in the middle up top, clear pink mallet head, is a Nalgene Grip-N-Gulp bottle. Its a 12oz bottle meant for kids like a sippy-cup. Anthony previously tried to use a bottle as a mallet head but it cracked when he bolted it down. Maybe the plastic he was using was too hard. Mine didn't crack. Nalgene is known for their indestructible bottles but the real test will be Sunday when I can actually use it in a game.

Party for the Parks

via Revolutions:



This should def be fun. B. Thornburg is part of the Electrocity crew and can mix some tasty tunes. You might remember when I recovered one of his bikes. He also helps run Odessa (on Broad Street) with whom I'm working on a special bicycle related project. Details of that soon.