Bicycle Art show, tonight and tomorrow!

Remember this photo?

I posted this photo by Kenneth Alan back around Christmas time, and heard from a lot of people who loved it. Well, this weekend you have a chance to come see it, and three more original works by Kenneth, in person here at the shop. (And yes, I think it is for sale.)

This Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, is the Fort Worth South ArtsGoggle, when businesses in our 'hood keep the doors open late, show art, and have a good time. It's a chance to walk the neighborhood, look at great art, listen to music at some locations, and generally come together as a community.

Cool new city bike:

Check out the Redline 9-2-5:


Smooooth-riding cromoly frame and fork, comes with both a singlespeed freewheel and fixed cog on the rear wheel, fenders, and fashionable/comfortable moustache bars. A truly utilitarian machine, it even has rear rack bosses to help you outfit the bike to carry your stuff. Come give it a spin.

Important meeting... be there.

If you're wondering why the oft-touted Fort Worth bike route network has taken so long to materialize, this is a meeting you don't want to miss. The City of Fort Worth's Rick Vasquez, who has recently inherited responsibility for the bike route program, will be updating us on the current situation for the bike routes, and explaining what has taken so long.

He'll also be taking feedback from we cyclists who will be actually using the system, which makes it all the more important that we be present in respectable numbers. I urge all of you to join us there.

BIKE WORKING GROUP MEETING:

Wednesday, March 29 @ 6pm

City Hall - Pre-Council Meeting Room
Second Floor
1000 Throckmorton St.
downtown Fort Worth

MAP


AGENDA:

1.Introductions
2.Briefing on 1999 CMAQ Bike Route Program
3.Program Updates
4.Other Items for Discussion
5.Adjourn

City Contact:
The meeting will be held Wednesday March 29, 2006 at 6:00 p.m., Pre-Council
Meeting Room, Second Floor, City Hall.

Rick Vasquez
817 392-6592
rick.m.vasquez@fortworthgov.org

Pictures

Planning their routes:


The start:


Heading out:


The eventual winner, Chuck, flying down 7th:


Checking Chuck's manifest:


Chuck's victory dance:


Bryan's manifest was destroyed by the elements:


"Best Route" and second place awards went to Ken:


Nate and Alain tied for third:


Funny Story... Chuck just bought a brand new Moots 29er last week. When he left the house Sunday, his wife told him that he'd better not, under any circumstances, bring home a new bike. I think he should thank her for the inspiration to win:


Jonathan showing Chuck how to trackstand his new bike:


And now for something completely different:

Results from yesterday's alleycat

Here are the results from yesterday's alleycat, which was raced by 15 hardy souls-

1st- Chuck Kuykendall II
2nd- Ken Loose
3rd (tie)- Alain and Nate
4th- Jonathan Roach
5th- Chris Hasty
6th- Jonny Munoz
DNF- Truman
DNF- Kevin Lee
DNF- Mike Reyher
DNF- Bryan McKendry
DNF- Brian McChristian
DNF- Matt Havener
DNF- Clay Woolam
DNF- John Cameron
DNS- Mark Lettieri
DNS- Ian

These guys all braved a nasty rain, flash floods, and flat tires, and they never really let any of that slow them down. I was out on the course checking in with some of our volunteers when I ran into Chuck and was amazed when he said he only had 2 stops left. I ended up having to race Chuck back to the finish, since I was the finish line judge. I beat him back, but not by much! Great ride, Chuck.

While the weather didn't "cooperate" with the race in the traditional sense, I'd venture to say it made the event a lot more interesting. There were lots of flat tires, illegible/lost manifests or maps, and other challenges only a day-long soaking rain can provide.

I want to give a big THANK YOU to our sponsors: KHS Bicycles, Masi Bicycles, Chrome Bags, the Fort Worth Cats, and Rahr & Sons Brewing all stepped up and made sure our riders and volunteers went home with a little something for their efforts. Thanks also to our volunteers who manned the signature checkpoints; we couldn't have done it without you.

There are LOTS of photos from this event that I will start posting over the next few days, so those of you who stayed home can see how much fun you missed.

Bikes and Explosions start the day off right!

Jason and I rode our bikes downtown to watch the demolition of the Landmark Tower (the tallest building ever demolished in Texas). It's was a great reminder how bikes kick the sh!# out of personal automobiles for urban transportation.

Sure, it was raining. But believe it or not there are actually companies that produce raingear for cycling, so you can ride comfortably in the rain if you so choose. We were able to ride quickly around downtown to scout the best locations for viewing the implosion. We scouted a lot more locations than we could have if we'd parked and walked.

Then we got to have fun passing all the cars waiting at red lights trying to get out of downtown after the thing was over. I especially enjoyed passing the jerk in the white uber-SUV Ford Excursion who honked at us 10 seconds early because we were on "his" road. Sorry about that sir. If I'd known you own the road I'd probably have stayed home. I hope you weren't too jealous that Jason and I were sitting down at Paul's, our favorite breakfast spot, before you even got through that red light....

Channel 5 already has some good video of the implosion up; check it out.

teaser

This is the new bike you could win in our alleycat March 19:

A man and his new bike:

A lot of you know Chris Hill, who rides with quite a bit. Well, Chris just traded in his trusty steel Bianchi for a sweet new Masi ride.

He's psyched (really psyched, despite the disinterested Rockstar sneer he exhibits in the above photograph... the sun was really bright just then). The above picture was taken when he picked up the bike, and then proceeded straight out on a ride. Tailwinds, Chris!

[As an interesting aside, we now have two buddies named Chris, both of whom ride 56cm Masi Vinceres. Kind of a strange coincidence; I think we're going to start having to refer to folks by their last names]

Things you will need to race the Alleycat:

The stops are set; you will need to have the following items with you to race on March 19:

$8 entry fee (part of which will buy beer, part of which will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, on whose behalf members of the Dirt Dawgs are volunteering to give signatures at certain checkpoints) If you pay the entry fee by the 16th, it's only $5.

About $8-10 cash to make a few small purchases along the route. (Two of the three checkpoints will accept credit or check cards, so you could theoretically get by with 50 cents and a piece of plastic; but cash is quicker, if you're the competitive sort.)

A messenger bag, backpack, or some other means of carrying large-ish items with you on your bike.

A lock, to foil would-be bike thieves (a couple of the stops will require entering a building).

A pen, pencil, crayon, or other writing instrument.



The following items will be provided for you:

A manifest (list of checkpoints) and detailed instructions.

A detailed map of the race area, with all checkpoints marked.

A commemorative spokecard.

Refreshing beverages (read: beer) will be provided at the finish line. If you've got time to stick around after the race, plan to do so. After all, there will be beer to be drunk. There will be a grill going. We may do some impromptu trackstand contests, tricycle races, or whatever else the crowd seems interested in.

It will be a good time. Guaranteed.

another beautiful new bike:

Check out this Masi Gran Corsa; I've never been a big fan of blue bikes, but this particular blue bike makes even me yearn a little bit for a new bike (of course, I should probably hold out until the MasiGuy spec's the Speciale Carbon with Molteni Orange paint... that'd pretty much be my dream bike). The Gran Corsa isn't just a looker; it rides oh-so-smooth, too... come give it a test spin.

a boatload of new bikes...

Spring weather is here, and we've got a couple of BIG bike shipments... so many bikes we're not sure yet where to put them all. I'm gonna start posting new models we haven't had before here on the blog, one by one.

Our first installment, the Haro V3:



An awesome value at $440! Haro V-series aluminum frame, disc-ready wheelset, SRAM derailleur and trigger shifters, and a nice Manitou Trace fork.

2 new sponsors for the Alleycat!

I'm so excited about the event on March 19, I can hardly wait!

First of all, a big thanks to Amy, our neighbor and owner of the Spiral Diner, for agreeing to let us block off the parking area behind the shop for use as a start/finish/after-party area. We really REALLY appreciate it.

Thanks also to Chrome Industries, whose bombproof messenger bags we know and love, and who have given us two t-shirts and two really cool castro caps as race prizes.http://www.chromebags.com/cap.php

Finally, thanks to a sponsor who stepped up and gave us the prize that will be awarded to the overall winner of the inaugural PCB Alleycat: KHS Bicycles has donated a brand new track bike (a 57cm Flite 100)!

Alleycat prize sponsor #2

The Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team!

First alleycat sponsor!

I'm very pleased to announce our first prize sponsor for the March 19 alleycat:

Masi Bicycles!



Masi is throwing in some team apparel as a race prize; come out and go fast, maybe you'll score a sweet new jersey...