New happenings...

Wow.. so its has been an extended amount of time since my last post. New projects, new problems and new encounters. I wish I would have posted right after halloween. Amy and I raced an Alley Cat down in Ghent(Norfollk), and it was a blast. The pics are hilarious .Rob Tripp and Wes Cheney previously raced the tidewater MTB Challenge the day before and were @ the alley cat dressed to impress. Coincidentally , I had decided that I wanted to dress as a member of The Zissou Society, way before they did.

I have taken on a couple bike projects as well. The first project will probly go under because of its time consuming nature. 1950 Schwinn Panther with bike liscense plate from 1960. My second project is my new steel,lugged, fixie that originally was going to be Amy's road bike. After some measurements, I decided that it wasnt going to work as her road bike. Now i have built it into a fixie and already disassembled it for re-painting. I will post final pics of it when I get it done.Oh, and for Amy's bike, I bought her another Fuji steel bike with dual-levers and True Temper tubing, sweet.

In the latest news, Astana Cycling Team workhorse Chris Horner, dropped by BikeBeat on Tuesday for a visit and shared some stories and experiences with us fans about proffesional cycling. Chris is probly one of the most down to earth pro's out there. He briefly talked about his thoughts on the next Tour de France and how he thought things will pan out this year between his teammates Lance and Contadore ."Be prepared for Lance to win again, and don't be suprised if there is some drama." Chris is very humble when it comes to explaining his job on the team. Chris explained that it is his mission to get the big dogs in the running and send then off with a bag lunch. Of course all of this was said with no remorse, After I asked the inevitable question about what makes him tick, he replied simply,"..just ride your bike and have fun, if your not ,then find something that is." Right on man. PS Chris dont have no stinkin' coach either. Refer to his quote.

Feelin Artsy Fartsy...

Hello all. Its been awhile since I posted, but I've been very busy lately. Between working , and working, I've decided to build Amy a road bike . The i aquired a steel Fuji from the 70's from a co-worker of mine . This going to be a project of mine to get done by December. Another project developed shortly after a man walked in to the shop and said he wanted to throw away an old bike. Of course I said I would take it. It turns out that its a 1950 Schwinn Panther. Pretty cool.

Lost Boys Of Sudan Hampton Roads

Recently, Amy and have given this organization a bike to help these refugees get around town. While the means for motorized transportation is there, Recycles Norfolk will continue to provide LBSHR with bikes when they need them. We can all help!
Check them out at www.lostboyshr.com

In 2001 before the attacks of 9/11, approximately 4,000 Sudanese Lost Boy and Girl refugees arrived in the United States. As victims of genocidal (un)civil war which has raged in Southern Sudan for over twenty years, they have spent the majority of their lives in refugee camps of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Since the ages of 3 to 7, the tides of war have forced them to flee as groups of children through the deserts on thousand mile treks. Most have lost their parents and siblings, having seen them perish or killed before their eyes. They have survived war, thirst, starvation, and personal loss that has scarred their souls but never beat them. Now in their early twenties, the Lost Boys and Girls living in the United States embody the hope for their country’s future.It is the purpose of the Sudanese Lost Boys African School Program is to help ease the many difficulties that may arise during their transition to life in America. We endeavor to help them achieve the education and political resources necessary to rebuild their own lives and also the lives of those left in Sudan.

Confirmation on Fisher's Road Bikes..

I guess i'll just hold out on buying a road bike now. I'll just wait until these puppies go directly to closeout in a couple months. Old Trek 2100's with Gary Fisher stickers..Touche' Trek..Touche'

Must See movie of the year...

It made me pee my pants....Enjoy!

Riding with no handlebars...

Flobots-Handlebars....check it out.

Gary Fisher road bike?...uh-oh.

I overheard today @ my new bike shop ,that the man known as the founding father of mountain biking and genesis design, will possibly be releasing a road bike. This is a credible source, being that the owner of BikeBeat is not only a top 100 dealer in America, but has four TREK concept stores where 80% of the merch is TREK. This rumor started out as Klein was supposed to be brought back into the picture, after Lemond went splitsville from TREK Corp. Evidently not, according to the owner, who personally had chatted it up with the Gary Fisher marketing advisor. The possibility of Klein's Quantum labeled as Gary Fisher is increasingly evident. First day on the job and already some breaking news. Trek show is coming up so watch out for some crazy details . Late!

..Stella got her groove back...

It was a great weekend of riding for me. Road,BMX and MTB.Saturday morning I had a great group road ride and felt pretty consistent. I rode pretty strong and almost felt like i had a lot more left, but I had to save my energy for work. After i got off from the bike shop, i left and went directly to the Hampton Supertrack for the night race. I missed registration , but was still able to get in a couple good gates. I even snuck into a moto and confused the heck out the scorers. After the race, it was open track practice, and I deciced to do something I hadn't done in a while ...Jump... The photo above was taken by ** Jonnhyculbreth.com ** Great pic man. Sunday went down as such. 1.Went to the beach 2.Walked the dog 3. Went riding with Micah 4. Stopped by KB's crib to chat it up 5. Met Guillermo @ the Norfolk Pagoda downtown. 6. Rode to Waterside 7.Took the Elizabeth River trail back to Tortilla West for a couple cold ones...and that's where the story ends. Overall great weekend .

Think Green....

The Perfect Circle from Matthew on Vimeo.

Cool little film from Bicycle Film Festival...

A New Home For Junkers and Clunkers....

Hey All! Check out Norfolk Re-cycles under "My Peeps". If you have some bikes laying around, and would like them to go to someone in need or a good home, please donate them to Norfolk Re-cycles!...Lets all do our part ! With a little bit of effort, we can go a long way. For more info log on to www.recyclesnorfolk.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Amy?

July 27th was my fiance's (Amy) birthday and she choose to do the Back Bay to False Capes bike ride. For those of you are familiar with this ride, you know that you can ride from Va. Beach to NC via by way of trail and beach. We bit off a little more than we could chew. Amy's father also rode with us and was helping us conquer this long and arduous task. Rationing water and food(because of my poor planning) didn't help us much either, as we were all sun burnt ,dehydrated, and tired from already hiking 8 mi. in 4 inch deep sand. When we decided to head back to our cars we stopped and asked some random old fogies how to get back because, not only did we have the wrong map, we also couldn't ride on the beach anymore because high tide made riding in the sand unbearable. We made a big mistake by asking them where to go because it ended up being the worst 6 mi. hike/bike through swamp water ever. Knee deep in brown, snake infested water we followed this service road until we saw a main road ahead. One problem. 30 feet of 4 ft deep swamp water. W.T.H. is what I thought @ that point, and in a split second decision we marched through it Vietnam style. Low and behold the ranger station and the fresh water drinking fountain were only inches away from the road. AHHHH!!! Only to find out that we had followed the beach parallel the whole time. Moral of the story is keep truckin you never kno what box of chocolates your gonna get.

TOUR AKSHUN!

Gas, Gas, Gas...

Gas prices push drivers to ride bikes

http://www.wvec.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=253742&shu=1
just check the video out before you doubt suckas...
June 11th, 2008

Lots of people say the price of gas has gotten so expensive that they're putting away the car and hopping on bicycles when they can.

Presidential Hopeful Training For Next Tour...

According to a post on www.nicomachus.net, presidential hopeful Barack Obama took a break from the campaign trail to ride bicycles with his family and neighbors. The Illinois senator rode from his home in Chicago to the shores of Lake Michigan, but sadly their ride was cut short by foul weather.

And in related news, SRAM’s F.K. Day is hosting an Obama fundraiser at his Chicago home. An anticipated 100 bicycle industry magnates will pay $2,300 to attend the function. Although the upcoming election will focus on political issues such as foreign policy and the economy, Day is quoted as saying, “It’s really an opportunity to talk about bikes with Barack.”

Foreign appeal...

....one day we will learn, from other countries, how important it is to advertise in extreme color...

P.S. If you cant be fast, look fast...

Rock Racing rolls out Nascar style....It's a part of Michael Ball's marketing ingenious...hats off to you sir. That goodness his PR stints are larger than Texas..nice cover up for a bunch of dopers..

Automobile heresay....

Me and Trippster were talkin about TV's greatest cars...he mentioned something about Smokey and the Bandit and the Firebird that Burt Reynolds drove...I think Herbie qualifies as top runner...

Numba One Blogg