Brave new world

As the snow began to fall this morning I cursed aloud the lousy March weather in Seattle and chill came over me. I would like to think it was the wind blowing though my house or maybe it was the total lack of heat in my decrepit Hooverville of a home. However, I knew it was neither of these. It was the harsh realization that today was the last day I’d have in the familiar Raleigh I’ve grown accustomed to. Matt Case was on his way over for a “last breakfast” before we commuted into work for the last time. This struck particularly hard as on Thursday I rode into work with Carey for the last time. Both are leaving Raleigh to pursue new jobs and new places. Both are heading to Portland and staying in the bike industry. Case is going to be working for Cyclone Bicycle Supply, and Carey will be at the new US office of Rapha. While I’m about as depressed as a rider can get at loosing his two best riding partners, I’m very excited for the both of them. They are both very talented people that bring energy, excitement, and passion with them in everything they do…I’m excited to see what their futures will hold.

Always big smiles and big miles.

Last Day Ride...(sniff)

Cheers kids. You'll be missed.

AWARNESS DELAYED

{carey}

Alright...I saw this video about a week ago and failed to post it. This week my inbox has been on fire with the link; so I figured it was my duty to finally get it up. It is a great awareness test and I passed the first test and failed the "true" test miserably.

An Evening With PJ

{words carey}
First off, to give you a sense of who PJ (ex-messenger of 9 years) is, I invite you to scroll down and check out his bike. I've had a Raleigh Coasting frame sitting in my cube for the past month & have been trying to find the inspiration to build it up. Brian planned on getting parts that would pay homage to a Klunker-era (70's) mountain bike, which sounded cool, but he and I have been swamped with work lately & put the project on the back burner. The other day PJ was sitting in my cube and suddenly looked at me with wide, fantastic eyes and asked, "Ooooo...what you gonna do with this Coasting frame?" I told him the story and then he asked if he could take it home and build it that night.

Well...what we get is a pretty cool fixed gear that seems to be part Klunker, part urban hipster mobile, part classic cruiser, and part PJ. I dig the bike and love how he contradicted the frame's "Coasting" name by fixing it.

Here are some pictures from our ride home:

Bikes + Books + Beer + Boys = our life (except the guys might want to replace boys with babes).

The unofficial Raleigh Klunker.

PJ rescued this little antenna man from the side of the road.

Almost 2 minutes after these pictures were taken, PJ got a flat. Hmmm...could it have been all the thorns he rode through?

It was so pleasant tonight that jeans, a sweatshirt and some light gloves did the trick.

After PJ and I parted ways, I finished my evening off with a sunset over the Olympic mountains.

Here's the video of the true KLUNKERZ:

SEATTLE BIKE EXPO GO-ERS

Get yourself a brand new Raleigh lid (the one in the picture) at the Expo - if you mention seeing this post, it's yours! Limited supply so come early.

SEE YA ALL THERE!

A NEW RIDING PARTNER

{words & video carey}

The days are getting longer and last night while rolling home solo I found a silent riding partner that accompanied me until the sun set.

The music flowing through my ipod at that moment was the perfect soundtrack to rolling with my shadow. Song: Always Fade Band: Low Album: Drums and Guns

SEATTLE BIKE EXPO THIS WEEKEND

Come by and say hi to us Raleigh folk down at the Expo; we will have a taste of our 2008 bikes like the One Way, Sojourn, Cadent line, Road line, and our XXIX's.

Links to get you there:
Cascade Bicycle Club
Directions to venue
Hours:
Saturday March 8, 9:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday March 9 10:00am- 4:00pm

Later.

PINK FROSTING WITH STAR SPRINKLES

{words carey & images carey - brian}

The postings have been sparse but our riding has been rich. Last week was sprinkled with warm days that gave promise of spring, the weekends promised even harder and we all found ourselves on road rides and hitting mountain trails without fenders or high beams.

We got caught in what seemed like the first rain of the winter last Friday on the ride home and it felt bizarre to have rain drops lick our cheeks. It has been mild lately in Seattle and we are all loving it!!

Since our time at work as been consumed by, well...say "work" I only have pictures for you today rather than some amazing prose, humorous stabs, or awe inspiring thoughts. So, I'll let all the pictures do the inspiring...

WARM WEATHER PHOTO-STRIP

6:30 AM SHOT - THE DAYS ARE GETTING BRIGHTER EARLIER!!!!


SOME DAYS YOU JUST AREN'T FEELING IT...


THIS MORNING'S RIDE CONSISTED OF A PINK FROSTING HANDLEBAR WITH SOME STAR SPRINKLES ON TOP. Plus, a game of "I'll take a picture when you take a picture!" Plus, it was actually cold this morning 34 degrees?! What happened to last week?





ENJOY!

LIFE SUPPORT

{words & images brian}

Seattle winters are hard. There’s a serious lack of sun, the rain and cold can be oppressive, and the beer is Darn Tasty. These conditions can be particularly hard on your bike during this time of year. The grit that comes off the road grates harder than Fran Drescher’s voice, while the beer plays havoc on my bikes ability to stay upright. Recently the grey snapped, the sun broke and I decided I’d give my Rush Hour a little TLC in preparation for winter’s final push.

Being an “old” mechanic the Rush Hour caught my eye when I started working here. Walk into almost any bike shop, grab a mechanics bike for a test ride and they’ll give you the “make sure you watch out for/be careful when you” speech. Why? After working on bikes all day long who wants to work on their own?!

The Rush Hour’s lack of derailleurs, no cassette/multiple chain rings to wear though, no fancy brake system or integrated anything is perfect. It’s a simple single speed with caliper brakes that’s been a maintenance free dream.

My Rush Hour love’n involved some chain scrubbing, the pulling my BB to purge the rusty water from the frame and much needed new bar wrap. It’s amazing how something as simple as bar wrap can change the attitude of your bike and your disposition when riding. Yup, my bar wrap is pink but I’m not so vain anymore and I defy you to find anything better than FREE!

I did this last week…

I bought new head phones to cover up the noise that my bike now makes. Apparently the grime that had worked its way into my bike had become an integral part of function and silence. Damn it.