Polo season approaches... prepare thineself. 

So while all ya'll Bozemanites have been shredding the gnar with epic pow, I've been playing bike polo and mountain biking a bunch. I know many of you will be stoked on this article about "Biker Polo".


http://chattanoogabikepolo.blogspot.com/

Gallatin Valley Bike Club Spring Party

Attention Bozeman cyclists, the 2011 GVBC spring party is tonight - Wednesday, March 23, at 6 pm at the Lindley Center. There will be pizza and beer (it's a keg so bring your own mug or you can purchase a GVBC pint glass for $5).

Please bring something for the potluck. People who's names start with A through M should bring side dish type things, letters N through Z should bring desserts.

If you wish to learn more about the Gallatin Valley Bike Club, visit their website at http://www.gallatinvalleybicycleclub.org

Did I mention there will be a keg?

 @JohnFriedrich hauls the 2009 GVBC keg on his Xtracycle

This kid rips. No pegs and no brakes. Flows trails and kills it on street. And thankfully, he's being innovative with his riding. 

You know how tuck-no-handers on street are lame now? Well, Trey is doing crank to tucks (1:42) and nollie to tucks (2:03). Hell yeah!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

The tool shown below has been the topic of a bit of discussion at the Bike Kitchen as of late. The official name for this device is the Park Tool BT-2 Cable Stretcher.

From the Park Tool website:

Commonly referred to as a "4th Hand", the Park Tool Cable Stretcher pulls cables tight for adjustment of derailleurs and brakes. It features one-hand operation with a thumb lock to hold the cable tight while your hand is freed up to tighten pull-up bolts and nuts. A must for any shop, home or professional.

Stevil from "All Hail The Black Market" posted a little commentary regarding this issue on his blog today with his post Tools come in all shapes and sizes..

From "All Hail the Black Market"

I was never sure why this was called the fourth hand. Personally I only have two and this acts as my third. I suppose if you get down to the nitty gritty, this pinches as well as pulls, so perhaps it would be more appropriately called 'the third and fourth hand', but just so there's no confusion, well simply call it by it's traditional name, a cable puller.

This is what my daily commute looks like:

Keirin: Speed Racers on Nowness.com.

there are some pretty good ones in this clip. Pretty cool min-doc on Keirin racing in Japan.
Watch it here or real nice and BIG here

DINGDINGDING!!!

An often unknown aspect of velo racing are the hazards of the course. 

This dude got a 10 inch piece of pine through his calf during a race!


http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/75367,sport,other-sport,cyclist-azizulhansi-awang-finishes-race-with-a-10in-splinter-through-his-leg

He also got up and finished the race. He was involved in a Keirin race where there is an awesome pace bike and a mad sprint at the end. This isn't the race, but it's a good Keirin race with a sweet crash.



Lauren brought this one to my attention BTW.

Who's interested in a Bozeman showing of Rev Phil's 4:PLAY, because the possibility is very real, and can happen very soon.  Drop a comment.

I couldn't help but post this video. I know most people in Bozeman aren't thinking about road riding right now, but you will be after watching this video. 



One more speed! Campagnolo stuff is so sexy!

 

Jeff Oatley won the Arrowhead 135 (again) and was invited to the Iditarod Trail Invitational (ITI) which is limited to 50 racers, who may choose a mode of travel (bike, ski, or hike) and a race distance (350 miles to McGrath, or 1100 miles to Nome). 

Here's an article about this crazy dude and his sweet rig:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/04/bikes-and-tech/snow-machine-jeff-oatleys-rig-for-the-iditarod-trail-invitational_90132

Valentine's Day Alleycat
Bozeman, MT
6:30pm - Saturday, February 12th, 2011
Meet in the alley behind 12 N. Wilson
Bring $4.00 to enter and be sure to Dress to Impress!

Sheldon Brown (July 14, 1944 – February 4, 2008)

I thought this would be an appropriate image for all ya'll Montanans.

 

pic from:  http://ridesabike.tumblr.com/

An excerpt from singletrackm1nd's blog:

Several years ago John asked me if I wanted to drive to Boise ID for an alleycat called 'Liverdance'. He knew a Boise cyclist dubbed 'Charlie The Ninja', who would let us crash at his place for the weekend. I'm generally socially awkward enough, that I'd normally be apprehensive about hanging with some random people, in an unfamiliar town. But, these were cyclists, so I didn't give it a moment's thought. After a harrowing drive in an '84 Toyota, John and I made it to Boise, and beheld a shadowy figure, beside the road. 

I hopped out of the car, and threw my left hand up just fast enough to catch a Bud Diesel tallboy. Another tallboy was delivered to John, along with a command to 'slam those beers, and get your bikes out of the car, we've got 30 minutes before "last call"'. We did as told, and soon the three of us were racing fixies in the middle of the night, through a town I'd never been in before, to some bar. I don't remember if I even shook the guy's hand, but I do remember feeling I'd been accepted immediately into the pack. Upon reaching the bar, there was shaking of hands, drinking of whiskey, and talking of shit from people I'd never met, who treated me like an old friend, just because I was a fellow cyclist.