Archive for the 'bikes' Category
Brian Lopes running the A-Line in Whistler with Cedric Gracia filming from his helmet.
via ibiscycles.com
Gotta love the low-budg bling.
Lake Tahoe continues to be one of my favorite places to visit. Add to it 13 friends and suddenly it’s absolutely fantastic. I’m not sure what it was, but I really felt like I was a kid at a sleepover at my friend’s house. Maybe it was the games, the vast quantities of junk food. the staying up way past our bedtimes, or just the irresistible smiles and laughter, but I really felt like I was 9 years old.
Amy’s birthday was celebrated in style (as well as a few other September birthdays: Christie, Justin, Patrick). I was able to ride my bike the full 72 miles around the lake. And best of all enjoyed the beautiful locale with friends.
I also picked up a new favorite game, that being jenga. It’s rather simple, but I really like the hand-eye coordination required, and also that you don’t have to really think too much. This is helpful at 1:00 in the morning. There was one game where five of us spent almost an hour stacking it to 35 stories, just short of a record. But what was even more fun was the freestyle building and destruction that occurred afterwards. A game we quickly dubbed ‘earthquake’. The goal was to build a structure that was not only cool looking, but strong enough to withstand and earthquake. The earthquake being someone kicking the table and screaming “EARTHQUAKE!!”. There was also the occasional meteor and hurricane to worry about as well. This transformed into attempting to knock down the structure with dominoes. I was a lego maniac as a kid, so these building sessions were super fun for me. And it even inspired a couple ideas for Burning Man next year.
So big shout out to Amy, Jason, Christie, Lisa, Adi, Kanika, Justin, Heidi, Patrick, Matt, Sarah, Xantha, and Doug. Ya’ll ROCK!!!
This bike is pretty sweet. Andrew Urwin built it, as well as some other rocket powered vehicles, but he recommends you not try it at home. I don’t know about you, but I’m not putting that thing between my legs.
Americans love their sports. But here, there are only four true sports in America; baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Some would probably argue that hockey shouldn’t even be in there since it’s mostly played by Canadians, GASP! Americans look forward to events like the Superbowl and World Series. They get together, drink, place some bets, and scream at the TV. Me, I never really cared about these games. I used to follow hockey when I was living in Michigan and the Wings were my team, but there’s no way I’m going to root for the San Jose Sharks. California and hockey just don’t mix. As a kid my sport of choice was soccer, the bastard stepchild of American sports. That was when soccer was referred to as the “pussy sport”. Soccer got no respect, and for the most part it still doesn’t. It’s the world’s game, yet most americans dismiss it. But I still played because I loved teh game. I dreamed of going over to Europe to play professionally on teams like Ajax (pronounced eye-axe). But a few too many knee injuries left me sidelined and I eventually had to quit the game I love. In its place I started cycling.
At age 14 my mom bought me my first roadbike, a Bianchi Eros. It was one fancy machine, and at the time I loved the white with purple lettering. Keep in mind, this was the era of all things fluorescent so the paint scheme was pretty understated. I never rode competitively, but I rode my bike everywhere I could. All those gears and skinny tires meant I could get pretty much anywhere in town really quick. Granted, I would’ve rather had a Spree to cruise around on. I’m not sure what it was about that two-wheeled machine, but it began my love affair with bikes. I still have that bike, although the purple stickers have been remove, and most of the parts replaced, but the frame is the central component, and the soul of the ride.
So last Friday I was very excited because it was the first day of the Tour de France. This is another event that most Americans could really care less about, but I’m glued to the TV for every stage. There’s something mesmerizing about the peloton moving in sync. I’m anxious for the final sprint at the end of the stage where 200 riders push and jockey for position with some riders crashing to the ground and bringing down those around them. A final hammer across the finish line, arms raised high in the air, victory is had. Up until a few years ago the Tour was mostly ignored around these parts. That is until Lance decided to win 5 straight, and this year is going for an unprecedented 6th. For the next few weeks I’ll be watching the coverage on OLN. I hope Lance wins, but I hope Jan Ulrich and Tyler Hamilton give him a run for his money.