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!

LOOT

{words brian}

Hey Chrisb

Heatsaver Gloves…you can usually find them in farm implement stores for less than $10. I coat them with some SnoSeal and they’re good for almost anything. I even use those gloves for skiing all but the coldest of days. (check out the Happy Holidays post) They absolutely rock.


It is with a heavy heart that I must admit that I am no longer wearing cycling clothes as yourself. I remember my very first mountain bike race in 1991. I was wearing sneakers, swim trunks without a chamois, cotton t-shirt, a beat up sweatshirt (it was cold), and a Giro Tequila SunRise helmet. I religiously rode in this type of gear for years. I never set foot in a Bike shop for Cycling clothes. Goodwill and the Salvation Army were my “sponsors” for years.

Today on my lunch ride I noticed that my new Sidi Dragons cost more than my first mountain bike and all my “riding gear” put together from that first bike race. How did I get to this point? Best I remember it was 1997. I was a volunteer wrench at USA Cycling with the grand hopes of becoming a Pro Mountain Bike Mechanic. Unfortunately, so did ¾ of the mechanics out there. I was asked to be a mechanic for the Track Sprint Program instead. Track racing?! Isn’t that like road racing but with no scenery at all? I had grand hopes of traveling to all the various races, turning a wrench, and getting to ride all these mountains. Instead, I saw the various ways an oval can be constructed. So instead of mountain biking everywhere, I got a road bike…(sigh)…and a full National Team kit to wear on the rides. It’s been a wallet vortex ever since.

While my Republic of Doom vest was given to me by my buddy Higgins, it’s a far cry from the sweat shirt that looked like I stole from the set of Flashdance. Custom made for me by Single Speeder Extraordinaire/carpenter/PDX messenger Steve Fassbinder. While I’ve had the vest a mere month I’ve worn it on almost every ride I’ve done since I got it. The GoreTex material blocks out the rain and wind like you’d expect, and keeps my core warm. There is one small Velcro pocket in the back and subtle reflective striping. The cowboy styled pistols and gun casing zipper grab more ‘eye humps’ and comments than any other piece of cycling clothing I have. While his vests are pricey…anything that fits and looks as good are worth it.

SOMETIMES WE LIKE TO WEAR TIGHT PANTS

{words carey}

I swear those words (in the title) come from a song and amazingly enough I think it is a song I listen to often, but of course I can't place it.

Anyhow, it seems both Brain and I had malfunctioning alarms this morning, which meant we both missed the biking time slot that would get us to work on time. So, we packed our road gear into our bags and threw our bikes in the back of the truck so we could spin our legs at lunch.

There is a loop just outside our HQ building here that we all deem the "lunch ride" - it is a 15.47 mi loop that hugs the Green River (check out the route...here). Amazingly enough Brian had never been on the lunch route, "Oooo, this is going to be so much fun to show you the route!" I giddily said when I picked him up this morning. So, we dropped our camera's in our back pockets and snapped a couple shots.

{click images to enlarge}

bikes hanging in the lobby ready for the ride.

it is winter and moss seems to grow on everything

I got to visit the Castelli headquarters this summer down in Portland; G. Cowen the president hooked me up with a vintage Castelli piece that was calling my name...it had 2 of my favorite colors on it, black and hot pink...yeah!

Our route takes us through the holes of a local golf course - which I am surprised still exists because isn't road biking the new "golf"?

Ah...we both have the same bikes, same water bottles, same toe covers, same shoes (B. & C.)...good thing we don't have the same hair cut!

On the last little stretch back we saw a runner on the path staring up towards the sky. Brian asked, "What do you got?" It was a bald eagle feasting on some fresh kill; he was pretty gorgeous and seeing him he rounded out what was already a great ride.

Ahh...bikes they are so damn fun!

MONDAY's HABIT

{words carey}

Everyday that I leave my house without my bike under me I feel a little uneasy; uneasy because I start to put myself through a fairly intense guilt trip: "You should have taken your bike! You need to ride! The weather is going to be ify the whole rest of the week except for today - it is sunny grab the bike! Why didn't you ride?" and such.

So, I am teaching myself that it is alright if you don't ride every single day, it's OK to just rest, sleep in a bit, and enjoy the warmth of the car. Monday's are my devoted days for this rest, warmth, sleep catch up, and body rejuvenation. Every Monday I try to drive in with a weeks worth of groceries and clothes because riding 50 miles round trip is a lot more comfortable with only a lock, some incidental items, a camera, ipod, and some bike repair stuff in your bag.

My Monday habits have started and I must say on this icy/snowy filled day I was happy to have developed this habit.

Cheers.

Enjoy.