UPDATE: Opening a new bicycle shop in Fort Worth, TX. Not just a bike shop, but a full-service commuter hub. Check it out: Trinity Bicycles.
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
My Apologies...
UPDATE: Come see me at Trinity Bicycles.
... for letting this blog sit inactive for so long. So, does anybody still check here occasionally? Should I resurrect this blog, or start over from scratch?
... for letting this blog sit inactive for so long. So, does anybody still check here occasionally? Should I resurrect this blog, or start over from scratch?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Bike Tour
This video has me itching to go on another bike camping trip... maybe sometime in early November.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
For those of you who missed it...
Google had a really cool "doodle" in honor of the Olympics Friday:
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Cranksgiving 2008
Yeah, that's right. I'm bringing Cranksgiving back.
It's going to be Saturday, November 15, and it will be a good time guaranteed. One you can feel good about participating in, too.
Two years ago, we gave 320 lbs of food to the local food bank. This year, our goal is 500 lbs!
Stay tuned for more details...
It's going to be Saturday, November 15, and it will be a good time guaranteed. One you can feel good about participating in, too.
Two years ago, we gave 320 lbs of food to the local food bank. This year, our goal is 500 lbs!
Stay tuned for more details...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Alleycat Results
Trae and Toria put on one hell of an AlleyCat yesterday evening, so kudos to them. I really appreciate them doing all that work, and it has inspired me to bring back Cranksgiving this year...
The race crowd was pretty decent sized for the first event in Fort Worth in a while. I'd say there were almost 20 racers.
The organizers decided not to give any "route-making" time, not even 5 minutes. I thought that was kind of a curveball... we just did a Lemans start, and then rode a block and a half to the first checkpoint, where we picked up our manifests. Not the usual alleycat M.O., but it certainly made it a little more interesting riding the first mile while trying to read a manifest and plan a route.
There were 9 stops, equally scattered around the Near South Side, Downtown, and the Cultural District.
When I started the race, I thought for sure I'd be in the running for the DFL prize, because I haven't been riding much, other than my daily 2-mile commute.
When we got going, though, I felt decent. Bryan and I teamed up, and at first I had trouble keeping up with him. As I warmed up, though, I was able to stay with him better, and even lead on occasion. It's always good, too, to have 2 heads choosing routes. You both have an idea, and then you choose the faster one.
When we had completed All but 3 of the stops, I realized that we were pretty high up in the standings. We were playing cat and mouse with another duo, Jason and Brad, who had chosen approximately the same route. They would beat us to one checkpoint, and we would beat them to the next.
I knew that Bryan had a bit better speed than I did, so we decided that I would work to help him win. Who says you can't have domestiques in an AlleyCat?
As we approached the infamous zoo hill, which led to the next to last checkpoint, I attacked with the intention of blowing up Jason and Brad as they tried to chase. It worked, sort of.
I beat them both up the hill handily, while Bryan sat comfortably on their wheels. Brad blew up, but Jason stayed close. When I got to the top, though, I couldn't find the checkpoint. Jason found it first, and took off. So we dropped Brad, but still had one more rider ahead of us (actually two, but Shaggy told us he had missed a checkpoint, so we knew he'd be DQed).
We followed Jason's taillight, and made no real attacks... I guessed that since he had never been to the last checkpoint, he would have a little trouble finding it. Sure enough, Bryan and I blasted a shortcut to 1919 Hemphill, and beat Jason there by a couple of seconds. I let Bryan take his ribbon from the checkpoint and take off, and then I took mine, taking my sweet time to do it. I grabbed two ribbons on purpose, put one back, stood there while I stuffed it into my pocket. Then I slowly and awkwardly turned my bike around and got out of the way.
It worked. I looked up and Bryan's taillight was a pretty good distance ahead of us. I knew I had done my job; I sat up and let Jason lead me to the finish, figuring we had the win.
The Damnedest thing happened, though... when we got to the finish, Atticus was already there. We had never seen him along the course. He led the entire way.
So the final official top 5 results were:
1. Atticus
2. Bryan
2*. Shaggy
3. Jason
4. Bernie
5. Brad
*Shaggy finished second, but he didn't get his ribbon at the Water Gardens stop. He did go there, so there was some debate about his placing. Hence the asterisk.
I won a $20 Spiral Diner gift certificate for my efforts... not bad for a race I thought I was going to lose badly!
The race crowd was pretty decent sized for the first event in Fort Worth in a while. I'd say there were almost 20 racers.
The organizers decided not to give any "route-making" time, not even 5 minutes. I thought that was kind of a curveball... we just did a Lemans start, and then rode a block and a half to the first checkpoint, where we picked up our manifests. Not the usual alleycat M.O., but it certainly made it a little more interesting riding the first mile while trying to read a manifest and plan a route.
There were 9 stops, equally scattered around the Near South Side, Downtown, and the Cultural District.
When I started the race, I thought for sure I'd be in the running for the DFL prize, because I haven't been riding much, other than my daily 2-mile commute.
When we got going, though, I felt decent. Bryan and I teamed up, and at first I had trouble keeping up with him. As I warmed up, though, I was able to stay with him better, and even lead on occasion. It's always good, too, to have 2 heads choosing routes. You both have an idea, and then you choose the faster one.
When we had completed All but 3 of the stops, I realized that we were pretty high up in the standings. We were playing cat and mouse with another duo, Jason and Brad, who had chosen approximately the same route. They would beat us to one checkpoint, and we would beat them to the next.
I knew that Bryan had a bit better speed than I did, so we decided that I would work to help him win. Who says you can't have domestiques in an AlleyCat?
As we approached the infamous zoo hill, which led to the next to last checkpoint, I attacked with the intention of blowing up Jason and Brad as they tried to chase. It worked, sort of.
I beat them both up the hill handily, while Bryan sat comfortably on their wheels. Brad blew up, but Jason stayed close. When I got to the top, though, I couldn't find the checkpoint. Jason found it first, and took off. So we dropped Brad, but still had one more rider ahead of us (actually two, but Shaggy told us he had missed a checkpoint, so we knew he'd be DQed).
We followed Jason's taillight, and made no real attacks... I guessed that since he had never been to the last checkpoint, he would have a little trouble finding it. Sure enough, Bryan and I blasted a shortcut to 1919 Hemphill, and beat Jason there by a couple of seconds. I let Bryan take his ribbon from the checkpoint and take off, and then I took mine, taking my sweet time to do it. I grabbed two ribbons on purpose, put one back, stood there while I stuffed it into my pocket. Then I slowly and awkwardly turned my bike around and got out of the way.
It worked. I looked up and Bryan's taillight was a pretty good distance ahead of us. I knew I had done my job; I sat up and let Jason lead me to the finish, figuring we had the win.
The Damnedest thing happened, though... when we got to the finish, Atticus was already there. We had never seen him along the course. He led the entire way.
So the final official top 5 results were:
1. Atticus
2. Bryan
2*. Shaggy
3. Jason
4. Bernie
5. Brad
*Shaggy finished second, but he didn't get his ribbon at the Water Gardens stop. He did go there, so there was some debate about his placing. Hence the asterisk.
I won a $20 Spiral Diner gift certificate for my efforts... not bad for a race I thought I was going to lose badly!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Fort Worth AlleyCat
I got home from NY last night, and was pleased to have a message on my phone from Bryan indicating that there is an Alleycat tonight, starting at the Chat Room at 7:30.
I don't think there's been an AlleyCat in Fort Worth since I put on Cranksgiving here a year and a half ago. If you find events like this fun, you should put one one... they don't take much in terms of production/effort, but if only one person has to put 'em on all the time, he or she will get burned out and they will stop.
I'm just saying.
Here's the details:
FWTX Sightseer alley cat July 20
Details:
Sunday July 20th 7:30pm
Chat room pub is the meet up.
Bring 4 bucks for entry
Prizes canbe won from what I understand.
This is all the info I have for now I will keep you updated as more is announced.
Perhaps I will see you there.
Let's make this a good turn out for this race!
I don't think there's been an AlleyCat in Fort Worth since I put on Cranksgiving here a year and a half ago. If you find events like this fun, you should put one one... they don't take much in terms of production/effort, but if only one person has to put 'em on all the time, he or she will get burned out and they will stop.
I'm just saying.
Here's the details:
FWTX Sightseer alley cat July 20
Details:
Sunday July 20th 7:30pm
Chat room pub is the meet up.
Bring 4 bucks for entry
Prizes canbe won from what I understand.
This is all the info I have for now I will keep you updated as more is announced.
Perhaps I will see you there.
Let's make this a good turn out for this race!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Hmm... what else can I fit on here?
Anybody got a kitchen sink they need moved?
I'm absolutely loving my Surly Big Dummy. Read about our adventure to PrairieFest.
I'm absolutely loving my Surly Big Dummy. Read about our adventure to PrairieFest.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Tonight we ride...
though it won't be your normal Monday night ride. Tonight we attend Fort Worth's critical mass ride. With the great weather, there should be a pretty good turnout for this one. We meet at the ITC station downtown (9th and Jones), and ride leaves at 6:30.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday Night Ride
Because I spent 21 hours at Will Rogers Memorial Center Saturday through Sunday morning, and slept the rest of the weekend, I'm afraid I'll have to skip tonight's ride and do all the stuff I was supposed to do this weekend... BUT you shouldn't let that stop you from riding. You're always welcome to start and end your ride here at the shop; you may even get some riding company.
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