Yes, it has been a long time since I've last posted. Sorry, I've been riding my bike instead of writing about riding my bike. I knew you'd understand.

Now, to the point- Captain E is organizing an alleycat THIS Sunday, July first. Meet at Cooper Park at 3pm and have your $5 ready. A bag will be useful. See you there!

Oh, and how about some women show up this time, OK? We still have prizes that the nice ladies at Gerty gave us for the last race. Someone's gotta win them, and I don't really want to see Seth or Evan or Dallas in anything from that shop. *shudder*.

Just a short blurb until I get to writing a full post:

First place men: Captain E
First place women: Why didn't any women show up?!?!
Moxie Award: Gus, for riding a cruiser with 1/2 a handlebar.
Getting the crashing out of the way early award: Casey
Riding a completely inappropriate bike award: John

Pictures
Wiley's Pictures on The Practical Pedal

Prizes- We got 'em! Thanks to the local businesses that gave up some support: Barrel Mountaineering, Gerty, 317 pub, Plonk, Bad Taste, and Bangtail Bikes. Entry will include an afternoon of hot racing and maybe a little somethin' else.
See you Sunday!

Tubes are here! Tubes are here! Yay!
Linky.

OK, the next alleycat is a go. Sunday, April 29th meet at 2:00 PM for the 'Aint no Hollaback Alleycat'. Entry is $5. We've got some great prizes lined up from Plonk, Gerty, and Bad Taste as well as some others I'm working on.
Winning will get you some booty, but there's more to it than that. There's the ongoing Moxie award (currently held by Captain E) and others as we see fit. So come and race anyway, even if you're riding a cruiser.
We meet at 2PM at Cooper Park. Make sure you have a bag (or some other means of carrying stuff) and a writing implement. HINT.
As always, any kind of bikes are welcome. Geared, Fixed, Single Speed, Mountain, Road, Trike, Tallbike, whatever.

Special Thanks to local businesses who are excited to be involved by donating prizes. Show your thanks by supporting them.

Here's some pics of Pete's first shot at building his own frame. He made a track-geometry fixed-gear, nice lugged steel frame and fork. He built the wheels with orange Velocity Deep-V rims and NJS-stamped Dura-Ace hubs, Sugino crankset, and a Nitto track bar. I'd say it is a success. Nice job, Pete.
More pictures here.

Ok, Everyone (aka you two). Sunday, April 29th is the next Alleycat. Location:TBD. Entry: TBD, probably around $5. Time: around 2 pm. I still gotta go around and beg for prizes and booze. I also would like to know who is (or knows someone) willing to work a stop. That pretty much means standing and signing manifests. It might mean sitting in a bar handing out drinks. Leave a comment if you're interested. Thanks.

Hey everyone- I'd like for you all to meet the newest member of the greater Bicycle Community. This little guy showed up on our doorstep a few days ago and doesn't seem like he's leaving anytime soon.
Everyone, meet Butter Bikes.
Butter Bikes, meet Everyone.
Butter is destined for great things. More than a simple bike company, it's a method of living that minimizes one's impact on the Earth while maximizing one's enjoyment in transportation. There's going to be bikes; cool, fun, innovative ones. But there's also going to be fun shirts like from our friends at BZNDesigns, smart bike accessories, and maybe even some yummy recipes.

You know, cuz Butter makes it Better.

The plan is to chronicle the growth of a collection of good ideas into a bike company, one that has a real desire to improve our World by starting with the community.
Check back often, and check out the Butter Bikes blog.

Sorry, this one's not on any shirts yet. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks in advance.

...But I am having one. Here's another shirt design. Use with critical mass rides and the Coop. Gas stations, Hummers (the 4-wheeled kind), and frequent drivers are contraindicated as violent reactions may occur between those wearing this shirt and occupants of said objects. Side effects may include, but not limited to: One-finger salutes, Disputes over public right-of-way ownership, general road laws, and a generally smug feeling of 'doing the right thing'. You're welcome.

A lot of you folks visiting this site regularly are avid cyclists and mountain bikers. And I'm sure that a lot of you (or yous, in my home dialect) also enjoy going out for a hike on a nice day. It is with this spirit of cooperatively enjoying our public lands that the latest BZNDesigns shirt is available, 'On the Same Side'. Wear it to forest management meetings, mountain bike races, out on the trail on a sunny Saturday, to Sierra Club events, anywhere! Spread the love.

After HOURS of design work I have finally been able to get some fun shirt designs on Cafepress. More designs are in the works, it just takes a bit of time to get everything set up. They are primarily bicycle related (duh), but if I get a good idea or 2 that aren't I might make 'em anyway. Designs will be fun, funny, and some will be quite irritating. So check in often, spend that student loan money, and buy some shirts. If anyone has any requests, feel free to let me know, as a one-off design can be done easily. Here's a peek:

Moab report, finally!
Saturday morning, 7am. I started loading up SIzzle the Subaru for a hasty getaway after work. I managed to cram enough stuff in the car so that it looked like I was moving out, especially when Dirty Pete's bouldering crash pad topped off the back. No, I couldn't see out the back window. All that stuff for one person? Isn't that excessive? Maybe, but this was my vacation, dammit...and I aim to live large.
Sunday Morning, 10 am. Arrive in Moab. Sizzle performed flawlessly, giving me 28mpg in exchange for driving less than 70. Met C-note and B-wrecked at Poison Spider Cycles right on main street. They're a good shop- The Aquabats were playing on the shop stereo and we got the beta on the new "SuperSecretNobodyKnowsAboutIt" Sovereign Trail. Headed to the campsite (awesome) and got ready for a ride. We headed up the Salt Flats Recreation Area past the 2nd most scenic dump in the US and rode the Martian terrain of Slickrock. This was my first experience with this stuff- and it's amazing! It's nothing but undulating hills of 60-grit sandpaper! We found that traction ran out when the slope got to about 45 degrees. A good ride.
I will update this later.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday

I found this on the Fixie FAQs site across the pond. I like it, so I'm putting it here.

Today we had some fantastic weather. Ski purists may scoff, but the mid-40's and sunny conditions today are, in my eyes, a welcome precursor to the season to come. Roads were a bit wet, but tolerable. A touch of snow and ice on Canary Lane kept me paying attention to what I was doing instead of staring at the mountains. Beats riding rollers in the basement any day. Pictures here.

Regarding Liverdance, I've pretty much decided on not going. Reality stopped by late last night and reminded me of how I'm not going to want to leave Moab when I'm down there riding. Next race, I promise. There's a chance that I'll be back for Dirty Pete's St. Patty's day Pubride now.

It's been awhile. Sorry.
OK, now that that is out of the way, let's get to the business at hand. Riding. Fast. Drinking. Alleycat. Pubride. St. Patty's Day, conveniently located on a Saturday this year, is host to a veritable plethora of festivities that include both the noblest inventions: Bikes and Beer. Firstly, for sping break I am planning on traveling ten hours south to finally ride Moab. For sixteen years I've been an avid mountain biker, more for cycling in general, and I have yet to experience what Mormon-and-Mountain Bike influenced red rock has to offer. And considering that I am newly (as of July past) free, I decided that it has already been too long for me to not have traveled south on a pilgrimage to my Mecca. The narrative does not stop there, I have decided (pretty much so) that after riding in Moab for a few days, I will then speed (as fast as Sizzle the Subaru will allow) forthwith to Boise for yet another Warlocks Bike Club event: Liverdance 2. A St. Patty's Day alleycat in Boise at 3pm. The reason for me putting this down here is to inform the limited yet tight-knit Bozeman Fixed-Gear community of this celebration. If you can't make it to Moab the week previous, try to make it to Boise for the Alleycat, it will be well worth your effort.

And if you don't feel like it, Dirty Pete is putting on a Pubride in Bozeman.

That is all for now, don't expect any more until after I'm back.

Quick month-late update. This is what I would have written, had I bothered. (3-4-07)

We went riding at Pipestone today. Was fun. Pictures.


If anyone wants a copy of an original, let me know and I'll email it to ya.

Sunday. Sunny. No snow for the last week or so. Warm. Remaining snow is hard and icy. Bridger's website says "Hard Pack".
Does that make me want to ski? Does that make anyone want to ski?
Nope. Shouldn't, at least. So I went to Pipestone for a little early-season mountain biking. I borrowed the Fun-duro from the shop (6" Front and Rear) and went for about a 12 mile ride in the 40 degree sunny day. There was a maximum of about 2 inches of snow, and what was on the trail was nicely packed, enough that I got traction even when climbing. Enough to make it a hell of a fun time on the downhills...2 wheel drifts are easier on a bit of snow.
No Pictures. Tough. Tomorrow I'm planning on heading out with Brian, so maybe I'll take some.

Questions have been raised regarding the next Pub Ride (like I have any responsibility for their creation). I think that at the absolute latest we should expect one to fall out of the sky for St. Patty’s Day. But 2 months? Isn’t that a long time to wait to celebrate some dubious occurrence by drinking bikes and riding beer? Wha?

Here’s some dates that could apply well to a pub ride. No, a Pub Ride. Events that can be given the proper measure of due respect, deference, and admiration via two-wheeled alcohol-fueled depravity.

January:
21st: Hugging Day
24th: Beer first sold in cans
27th: Thomas Crapper Day
31st: Child Labor Day (make sure to wear your Patagonia!)

February:
4th: Thank a Mailman Day, also Alice Cooper’s Birthday
7th: Girls and Women in Sports Day (lets have a few more ladies along for the ride this time)
14th: Ferris Wheel Day (yeah, and something else too…we’re going to leave that alone)
16th: Nylon Stockings Patented
18th: Pluto Day-the anniversary of the finding of the PLANET Pluto. (when is 'Pluto Gets Shit On Day'?)
22nd: Girl Scout Thinking Day (not making this up)
28th: Repetitive Strain Injuries Awareness Day. (make sure we drink with Both hands)


So there’s some ideas. You know where to find me. As always, updates will be posted here posthaste.

Yes, there's snow. Enough even to go XC skiing. There's even snow at Bridger Bowl, and by my East Coast standards, the conditions are really good. But Sethela and I went for a ride today, in the snow.

Folly?

Probably, in the sense that we (and others) don't partake in the ski mania that permeates the air here 8 months out of the year. I prefer to think of it as 'I'm above being so narrow-minded as to only think of one activity.'( I know what you're thinking-lighten up). Sure, I ski...I used to ride a nice snowboard too, until Big Sky broke it. I've even gone this week and had fun. But....if you can ride a bike on it, is it really that good for skiing? If you say yes, try a good snow ride, and come out of the closet. It is that good.

Here's a couple of pictures