Woodrup in DC

Whenever I am walking around in DC, I seem to stumble upon bikes that are too nice to be locked up, locked up on the street. For example this touring rig from Leeds England.
The wrap around seat stays are what first caught my eye.

Didn't want to manhandle the bike to get a better picture of it, but you can get the idea from that picture
Cool logo-also rad center pull brakes not mafac, but what can you do.

The full bike

The Brooks saddle reminds me of something else I saw.....

The value of the saddles in this picture is greater than the value of the bikes, but I guess they ride in comfort and style.
Did appreciate the file tread cross tires on the commuter, but is some bartape too much to ask?

DC always a good time for looking at bikes.

required reading

Big Bikes got me through the summer, but Cyclo-What is the fall favorite blog!

Dag Nasty with Shawn

So 2 of my favorite bands were and are Dag Nasty and Swiz. (Edge goes to Swiz who broke up before releasing some shitty records....). The fact that Shawn Brown started out singing for Dag Nasty should make this reissue a homerun. It is good and was released years ago as a 4x7" boxset. All the Dag classics in a rougher demo quality with SB belting out the lyrics. I think it works best on songs like Can I Say or Justification where the classic Shawn Brown vocal style shines though.
This is better than a nostalgia trip, but not quite a total power/total cool classic. Dischord has plenty of other gems in the vault they need to get cracking on releasing.

how to do it right

then



now

OFF! - UPSIDE DOWN from jake burghart on Vimeo.

this is a timeless formula for making a kick ass video.

of course

Good read from time magazine here on wingnuts. This section hit home to me
"Vanderboegh is hardly a man of action himself, living these days on government disability checks. Even so, when he wrote a blog post in March urging followers to protest the health care bill by breaking windows at Democratic Party offices, they did so across the country."
Of course the patriot on disability had time to agitate against health care....

If that wasn't enough try this article on CIA incompetenece from Harpers. Rendition? Remember that?

Race Report Simplifier

At this point in the season, signs of fatigue are setting in. Bike stays dirty longer. You stay in bed longer, etc. So blogging and race reporting is starting to slow down.
To make my life easier, I have boiled my race reporting down to a multiple choice madlib. Could have been a flow chart, but multiple choice is easier. Feel free to use if helpful.

1.Today's race was______
a. wetter than I like
b. too dry
c. too muddy
d. too hot
e. too cold

2. I had a ____ start
a.good
b.ok
c.terrible

3.I tried to go fast, i ______
a.did
b.failed due to_______
-legs
-head
-mechanical
-crash
-random body issue


4.Race ended, I ________
a. can't wait to look at cross results
b. did exactly what the race predictor expected
c .don't want to see to look at cross results



5.I am_____ for next weekend
a. stoked
b. dreading

6.I need to _____ coach
a.fire my
b.hire a


Add in a couple self deprecating remarks about handling, poorly maintained equipment, and maybe sketchy canadians or officials and it is a wrap.

Watching the Weasel a non-race report

My ribs and ankle were still pretty banged up from Gloucester and with 2 more days of racing in Providence on the horizon, I decided not to race the Night Weasel. That said, there was no way I wasn't going out to support this event. Rolled out in a downpour which fizzled out the closer we got to Ski-Ward in Shrewsbury.
Course looked fun. Technical wet and hazardous as well. I was glad I left my bike at home-cause I would have lined up if I brought it and I would have crashed for sure.
Nick,Billy, and Thom lined up to kill it. We posted our tent up on a nice muddy corner that would deteriorate nicely over the next few hours.
I got my heckle on as the other dudes raced. Buying a new camera before cross season seemed smart, but trying to learn how to operate it at the races is not a good plan. I got a couple hundred blurry shots from this race.
Races continued. Beer was drank. Veggie burgers eaten. Rad night. Elites were killing it.
Amazing prizes. Where else are FMBs on the prize list? And not for the winners either-sick!
Pedros did major community service on the bike wash front.
SkiWard deserves major props for letting this happen, and Colin,Linnea, and Chip deserve even more major props and thank yous for making it happen.
Packed up and rolled out. I really, really hope this race happens again next year. A New England Super Week seems like a great idea.