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.

Absoluetly Everything about Nothing...

{words Brian}

Some would say I have an Unhealthy love affair with Bacon. Why? Because I have a "What Would Bacon Do" decision maker? Because I made a Bacon Pinewood Derby car? Because I was involved in the creation of ‘The Mitch’…a bacon and bourbon shot that you can find at Fat Alley in Telluride CO (which later was the inspiration for Bacon Salt). Because I think the Bacon-tini you can get at Smarty Pants is the best thing to happen to Martinis? Maybe it’s just because Bacon is awesome and is one of the only food products you wrap lame food products with to make them taste better.

A good friend and fellow Bacon Lover sent me this and it’s too good not to share.

Last weekend 2 lbs of Bacon were delicately interwoven together to make a Bacon Mat. This idea was taken a step further when he formed the Mat around a Bowl and turned it upside down to fill it with breakfast goodies. Brilliant. Although I’m still a little hurt that I wasn’t invited for this Heart Clogging Fest…I was assured that this was a test run and I would be there for round 2.

STILL BUZZING FROM OUR PDX HIGH

And they were off to Portland!
{shared words & images by brian & carey}

{leaving Raleigh HQ - 6 bikes and 3 people}

{CLICK CLICK CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE}

You’ve seen all the pictures from the Handbuilt show. You heard that Lance was in attendance and Robin Williams would neither confirm nor deny a Mork and Mindy remake…it couldn’t be any worse than the remake of Starsky and Hutch.

You’ve seen pictures of the prettiest working bikes there by Signal, Black Cat, Ant, Ira Ryan, and IFAB You’ve heard everyone praise the city of Portland, and complain about the fact the show will be in Indianapolis next year.

But...
Did you hear it was Diablo Rojo’s Birthday during the show?
Did you hear that Carey and I exchanged shots/drinks with Steve Hampsten until the Clyde Common shut down.

Did you hear that the best way to spend a sunny afternoon in Portland involves bicycles, the Doug Fir, beer, cheesy fries, a fire pit, and a never ending stream of hipsters and douche bags for entertainment?

{Brian}

{PJ}

{Carey}

Did you hear about the Roller Races that Rapha hosted?

{image by dontbecreepy}

Did you hear that even the Canadians are confused by the ‘hipster’ movement? (someone please flush)

Other random snaps of the weekend:

{Portland's beautiful bridges - we couldn't get enough of them}

{every morning, every afternoon, everyday - Stumptown rules!}

{the ACE Hotel was the most wonderful place I have stayed in awhile - Brian and I took advantage of the Stumptown coffee bar every morning which was conveniently placed in the lobby}

{after 6 straight hours of looking at the most beautiful bikes of 2008 we went back the ACE scoped out our propaganda from the show}

{all most everything at the ACE was either recycled or handmade - Portland is awesome! photo credit - bloom and rot}

All this…and apparently we’re becoming ‘blog famous’ (as we were recognized in a bar by some Yazoo folk) . Not bad for something we have to do in our spare time. Next trade show for me (Brian) is Taipei next month. Can’t wait to see what 09 kids streamers are going to look like!

Later.

Other great links:

Handmade bike images:
Urban Velo
CyclingNews
ClockWorkBikes
Bike PDX.org

Events:
Teams Of Portland Exhibit & here
PlanB - Bike PDX Party
Rapah Roller Races

Pointless rant.

{words & images brian}

I’m not the kind to complain…really. But there’s been something about this week that has crawled under my skin and has been wanting to erupt like an Alien from my gut. For the sake of this blog I’ll censor my language and keep it bike related.

Monday. On top of hearing of Sheldon Brown’s passing, I was tired and riding home alone…another cold, grey Seattle bike ride. My motivation was low and my thoughts yelled at me to get a new Ipod (a pox on those thieves!). I settled into my ‘get home’ cadence, and hung my head just low enough so I could see 15 feet in front of my front tire. I wasn’t paying any attention to my surroundings until I came upon the yellow jacket who thought he was wearing the Maillot jaune. It must have been the sparkle of my Chrome seatbelt buckle that set him off, because once he caught a glimpse of me in his helmet mirror…it was on. For the next 10 miles he was working his shifter like the throttle on a Kawasaki, and constantly looking over his shoulder to see if he dropped me on the straights. I’ll admit I giggled at the sight but all I wanted to do was get to my decrepit Hooverville home and get ready to see the Editors that nite. Not be challenged by some guy thinking he was the ‘tete de Course’ and couldn’t be passed on his way home. Ugh…do we always have to be so competitive?


Today. Rode in alone…again. (do I smell bad these days?) I decided to change up my route and get some new scenery. I should have known when the first 5 stoplights all turned RED that some greater cosmic being was trying tell me to avoid this path. 6 more red lights, a huge Detour, an old lady sitting in a coffee stand (rather than my beloved Cowgirls), and every Tom Cruise driver playing ‘buzz the tower’ with their passenger mirror I was questioning my choice. However, these items are pretty mundane for the everyday commuter. The thing that got to me was when I pulled into this brand new Earthy market to get lunch for the day.

Parking lot…huge.

Food selection…organic and grain fed.

Lighting…efficient.

Staff…crunchy.

Bicycle parking…non existent.

This felt a little hypocritical on their part. Sure, encourage us to purchase and eat everything that is sustainable, free of toxins and all around better for the environment while we load your canvas shopping bags into your Range Rover. Double Ugh.

Can’t wait to see what’ll happen on my ride home tonite.

HANDBUILT BICYCLE SHOW-PDX HERE WE COME!!!

I know I am a bit late on this but than again every other bike blog out there has been posting about it, so it definitely isn't fresh news. But, we just wanted to plant it in your mind/schedule again because I know a handful us here at Raleigh are heading down for the event filled weekend and drool fest.

Click here & here for a schedule of event.

Look forward to some updates from us!

Cheers!