Bootleg/Peel Sessions

Craziness. Tons of people there, simply an incredible event to be a part of. Lots of other people will have much better photos/videos of what went down, but this gives you a small, fuzzy idea of the goings on...

The first of many bike piles

I'm in New York City right now. It's amazing how many different people have traveled here for the Bicycle Film Festival. A good portion of the bikes used in Bootleg Sessions v.2 are locked up right here...

Gold

I know a lot of you crazy kids out there love gold stuff. If that's the case, then you probably should take a look at Profile's new batch of hubs...



Nice. You know Goldmember's got his!

Raleigh Rush Hour

Just about every time Tom and I go out to ride we break something, although this is becoming less frequent. The conversation eventually digresses into what we have invested into making our bikes capable of taking the beating we put on it. Then the conversation always ends with what a great frame the Raleigh Rush Hour is.

I believe following Tom's first conversion that he had he received a Raleigh Rush Hour as a gift for his birthday or something. We all know that no one beats up a bike like Tom does. He rode the shit out of this bike until he finally moved on to the Gangsta Track. When I first met up with Tom and Wilis, I was pushing a Fuji Track and a Pake. I had ridden a Charge Plug for a little bit and a IRO Jamie Roy. I kept breaking and bending things which I will blame solely on the fact that I didn't respect the fact that these bikes weren't meant for my 240lb frame to be riding the way I was.

So at the time I basically didn't have a complete bike to ride. All my parts were shot so I picked up a Surly fork and Tom let me borrow the Raleigh Rush Hour. Tom had beat that frame into submission for a year and a half. I was scared to death to even crank down on it. We were all getting better at riding, trying bigger things and the Rush Hour kept on ticking. The end all of this little rant is I rode this frame for close to 8 months, Tom put in about a year and a half on it, our buddy Josh is riding it now. The top tube, down tube, and seat stays are dented. The frame is rusted, but it is still going strong.

As far as I am concerned this is the most sturdy production frame for tricks. The 4130 steel is so much more durable for tricks than the "nicer" steels people lust after. When it comes to tricks its 4130 or bust for the frame and fork.

I know Sam Miller beat on one of these frames for a while until he got his Masi then gave it to his brother, but its safe to say that this is the best economy frame for people looking to get into tricks.

Fast Friday Documentary!

The website for the Fast Friday Documentary has finally been fully fleshed out. I'm going to get to see this doc for the first time at the Bicycle Film Festival in NYC this weekend, and I'm pumped. I've been looking forward to this for awhile.

I went to Fast Friday in Seattle last July, and let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. I couldn't believe how many people were there, and the kids I met were incredible. The vibe surrounding the event was unreal, I can't even describe it.

If you check the videos page, you can see a clip of me participating in the best trick comp. It's crazy for me to see how much I've progressed in the past year. This footage looks really sketchy to me now, especially compared to my stuff that's in BSv.2. Nevertheless, the clip gives you an excellent feel for what the atmosphere was like during the event, and that's what this doc is all about; the people, the environment, and the energy surrounding this whole track bike movement.

I can't wait to see the entire movie. I know it's going to be killer and that it will bring back some great memories.

Hugeblocks

There's just all kinds of killer stuff going on in Japan right now.

HUGEBLKS

Terror in the Aisles

As a father, one of the most important lessons you must teach your children is that if they ever come across an unattended dolly in the middle of a grocery store, they must immediately session it.



The kid learns fast.

Freeman Transport!

Got an email from Ben @ Freeman Transport yesterday, and it included this photo...



That frame is NICE, and apparently they're going to be done in a couple of weeks! Note the couplers on the top and down tubes... that's right. It comes apart. I was actually thinking about these Freeman frames the other day when I was packing my bike for shipping to NYC. Packing and shipping a bike is such a huge pain in the ass, but with one of these bad boys, you could just break it in half, stick the entire thing in the bag that comes with it, and check it on a plane just like it was a regular piece of luggage. That's seriously brilliant.

What I want to know is, who in the hell are these guys that started Freeman Transport anyway? They're starting their own company based on a great idea, they scored graphics and a head badge design from Benny Gold, and they even have a pretty killer cap being produced by Estate LA...



Seems like these FT guys definitely know what they're doing. Dynamos, that's what they are. I'm going to start interviewing individuals who strike me as being dynamos. I'm always wanting to know what gets these people going...

I finally gave in.

I have never owned a messenger bag before. I suppose that's partly because I've always been a little wary of biting the messenger style since I'm not a messenger and I live in a city that boasts a total of maybe 5 guys who actually work as messengers. Mostly, however, it's due to the fact that I'm a cheap bastard. I could never bring myself to drop $100+ on a decent bag.

Enter Marshall's, which is quickly becoming my favorite store. For those who don't know, Marshall's is basically an overstock store. They get stuff that isn't selling at the major retailers for next to nothing, and then they resell it on the super cheap. That's where I got my pile of Adidas Superskate Slip-ons for $15 each (I still contend that these are the best riding shoes ever made).

Anyway, I was at Marshall's yesterday and they had a few Timbuk2 mess bags in stock. I grabbed a size L for $50, and I must admit that I'm down with it. The cross strap setup is pretty nice, and it feels comfortable while riding.



What does this mean for Timbuk2 as a company, however? Certainly nothing good. If their products are dropping at places like Marshall's and being rocked by cheap, style-unconscious bastards like myself, then I'm guessing they may be struggling a bit...

Packed and ready to go

Here it is, my baby, broken down, boxed, and bound for NYC. Hopefully it will be ready and waiting for me when I arrive for the premiere of BSv.2 on Friday.



Packing this bike is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. When you have a bike perfectly dialed, the last thing you want to do is pull it apart...

Signs of our times

For some reason I was just checking out the blogs on honeyee.com, and as I was farting through the Huf blog I saw this photo of some new hats that Huf has coming out...



Now normally I wouldn't pay any attention to Huf clothing stuff, but this photo randomly caught my eye because of the stiched hand with the two fingers sticking up on the back of the hat. At first I obviously assumed that the hand was just making the "peace" sign, but then it occurred to me that it would be pretty damned cool if that was actually the sign language symbol for the letter "H", which would of course match the "H" on the front of the hat...! Tricky!

Unfortunately, that's not the sign language symbol for "H". It is, in fact, just a plain old peace sign. Too bad. Something that I thought was a good idea turns out to not be the good idea that I thought it was.

Oh well... if Huf didn't do it, then I will. Guess what this says...

Is this legal?

Indianapolis in the month of May can be a weird place. The kid and I were coming back from the store today when I happened to pull up behind this...



...an Indy Car that was just cruising around the town. It even had a license plate and turn signals. It didn't, however, have a bike rack...

Bigga is Betta!

I worked a checkpoint at the "Bigga is Betta" alley cat race in Indy this weekend. Just getting to the first checkpoint carrying all the crap I had was pretty brutal due to the 400 mph winds, so I can't imagine how tough it was for the guys who raced in this thing.

Here is a great vid done by Dave Jennings (who did some filming for BSv.2) where you can see me in a green hat working the first checkpoint while sitting on the ground because my @#$%ing back had seized up. You can also see Shawn Wolf's view of the race via Dave's nifty helmet cam...



At my checkpoint, the riders could either take a small wine cork worth 10 points or a huge piece of pipe worth 20 points. Almost everyone took the cork. Shawn Wolf took the pipe. He is one of the very few people in Indy who actually works as a bike messenger, so I guess he figured he had to man up...

The Devil's Seatpost

In preparation for my trip to NYC at the end of the month, I swapped out my Odyssey 99er for a more comfortable seat. I love my 99er, but it really wasn't meant to actually be sat on. I'm going to be riding pretty much all day every day while on the east coast, so I need something that won't destroy my nether regions.

Check this out though... it literally took me 20 minutes to change my seat. That's not an exaggeration. The seatpost that I have has a total of 8 tiny, independent pieces that all have to be held together in perfect alignment in order to get the screws to go through everything. Completely ridiculous. I'm sure I could have done the job much faster if I had either a doctorate in mechanical engineering or an extra pair of arms and hands, but I have neither of those things, so by the time I was done I was feeling pretty pissed off at people who design bike parts.

Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery

I recently ran across this web comic about bikes. Pretty good. Check it out at yehudamoon.com.

I may have a problem.

Got another new pair of Adidas Superskate slip-ons today. That makes 5 now. What the hell is wrong with me...?


My dad always said that when you find something you love, you should stick with it. I think he was probably referring to a job or a woman or something as opposed to a particular brand and style of shoe, but hey, at least this proves that I was listening to him...

Super Riser

I don't speak Japanese, but from what I can infer from the poorly Google translated text on Hrym's blog, I believe this is his new setup...


I like it. I'm also running a set of super high 5 inch risers on one of my rigs, a setup that was inspired by Shigeo's bike in Bootleg Sessions v.1. The more I see these setups, the less corny they look...

This looks good

OK, so I first heard about this movie (Medicine for Melancholy) because it has bikes in it, but it looks like it's a really good flick, bikes or no. Super-indie though... wonder if I'll actually ever get a chance to see it...

The Cleveland Show

This looks amazing, but then again, it could also be one of those shows that just can't live up to how awesome you think it's going to be. Hope that's not the case. Even if you don't like Family Guy, you have to tune into the first episode of this spin-off just to see what in the hell those bears in the background are all about...

I'll see the real thing soon...

As I've mentioned before, my 3-year-old kid really likes the miniature Tech Deck skateboard stuff. Recently I got him this...


...a tiny version of the famous Brooklyn Banks, which Tom and Tony go off on in the first installment of Bootleg Sessions. Hopefully I'll get the chance to check out the real thing when I'm in NYC at the end of the month...

This guy is pissed!

Saw this on the road today... it's a Saturn station wagon that says, "For Sale: this Saturn - Has a manufacturing defect - GM can't fix it! - Wears tires out every 5,000 miles."


I don't think that sign is really going to help him sell that thing...

The Budos Band

When I'm out "sessioning" (or whatever the hell you want to call it), I usually wear headphones. My favorite stuff to listen to is anything that is instrumental and has a good groove to it. When a song has vocals, I often find myself thinking about the words rather than just relaxing and doing my thing, so I try to stick to tunes with no lyrics. Problem is, it can be hard to find good instrumental stuff that fits my mood when I'm riding.

Enter The Budos Band. I found these guys when I was looking for music for Bootleg Sessions v.2, and they have quickly become my favorite session music band. When I'm riding and listening to them, it feels like they wrote a soundtrack just for my stuff. We are fortunate enough that they allowed us to use one of their songs for the New York City clip in the video, and I think you'll be amazed at how perfectly the song fits into the edit.

You can see the video for one of their songs here. Check these guys out, you won't regret it.

Blade Runner

Three weeks ago I bought a copy of the new "Final Cut" (doubtful) of Blade Runner. I still haven't had a chance to watch it. It comes with a doc about the making of the movie (easily in my top five of favorite flicks) which I'm really interested to see, but I just haven't had time to check it out since I've been working so much on BSv2. Last week I literally watched 15 minutes of TV the entire week.



This movie was so far ahead of it's time that it's almost ridiculous. I think that BSv3 will be shot entirely at night and in the rain as a tribute to Blade Runner...

Front Wheel Powered Camera

I saw this over on the Surly Blog


A Surly Pugsley setup with a front wheel powered camera. A film maker trekked across Antarctica to make a movie, and collect ice samples. You can read the full article here.

New Threads

The guys at Mishka sent me a box full of stuff this week. I'm digging it. Thanks guys!