The short fim I made, Track Kaiju, about 2 Japanese bike messengers traveling to NYC to race in Monster Track will be screening this week, so if your in the neighborhood…check it out.
party, pick up a manifest, watch an awesome short film about messengers comepeting in a nyc alleycat…
Boston Bike Film Festival’s Opening Party this Thursday Night 8:00pm The Otherside Cafe
grab a scavengerhunt manifest for $3
watch my favorite messengers act a fool in a short film about the most infamous nyc alleycat of them all- MONSTERTRACK!
Track Kaiju Playintraffic Producitons short film starring Shino (“fixie king at the 14th annual messenger world championship in Sydney” -Mike Green) and Mike Dee (NYC messenger, Red Light Go)
see you there!
a little blurb about the Boston Ladies–”We are a group of women cyclists in the Boston area. Our goals are to build community amongst like-minded women who find themselves in a male-dominated sport and sub-culture, create a safe space for women who may have never raced or ridden seriously before to train with other women, incubate the experienced and the inexperienced alike so that we all feel more confident about riding and racing in mixed gender (ie, male dominated) settings, and have a shit load of fun riding bike”
There is also the Joy Ride art show, a collection of amazing works of art by bikers about bikes. (this art show has been touring with the festival)
JOY RIDE 17-21 OCTOBER MAVERIK SHOWROOM | 68-72 Red Church St E2 02077396002
There will be nightly after parties at such hotspots as: Green and Red’s, The Legion, Dust and the Dragon Bar. (see Bicycle Film Festival for a compete list of information)
Its this event where people dress up like zombies and march around NYC looking for BRAINS. Its modeled after Santacon and happens in a bunch of cities all over the US.
visit: ZOMBIECON to get on the email list to find out where ZOMBIECON will meet up.
Spend the day in a George Romero kind of mood and for inspiration check out this video from last year…
then hop on your bike and join the midnight ridazz–bike ride at 11:00pm (see post below)
Midnight Ridazz is bike ride for cyclists and skaters which meets in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles on the 2nd Saturday of every month. This event has been taking place since February of 2004 and has a ridership of numbers into the thousands. The idea here is critical mass only later in the evening, less confrontational and more about good times with a party, costumed atmosphere.
On October 12th, 2007…The midnight Ridazz hosted the…Heavy Metal 2 ride.
here is a video from the event…
NYC has attempted a few Midnight Ridazz style bike rides, but it hasn’t caught on…YET!
Ok, this is my favorite time of the year. HALLOWEEN. So much going on. This is the time of year I get no sleep, stay up all night making flyers and costumes. I’ll just post em as I see em. Saturday, OCTOBER 20 NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD MIDNIGHT RIDAZZ
Put on your creepiest undead costume, grab your flask and meet us at the St. Mark’s Church Cemetery, famously haunted by the 17th-century Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant. We’ll visit notoriously haunted spots around the East Village and beyond. This ride ends at a party!
DISCLAIMER: By participating, Cyclists hereby agree that FreeWheels, its agents and affiliates assume no liability for brains consumed through any acts or omissions of any party
11:00 pm- St Marks Church Graveyard (2nd Ave & E10th St)
For a daily report on cycling news check out: cycling.web.net. From their site:
“Hello and welcome to cycling.web.net, a daily digest of cycling news from around the world. Think of CWN as a watering hole for cycling enthusiasts and people interesting in finding out more about cycling, training, trends and equipment. Articles and information about bikes and cycling are delivered fresh daily, so stop by regularly for your cycling news fix!”
On Saturday, October 13 from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA (formerly Lehigh Valley Velodrome) will host the largest cycling and fitness outdoor expo in the east. This specialty flea market, which is devoted to a variety of bicycling products, will close out the major event schedule for 2007 at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. The best cycling-related sportswear and fitness equipment from the largest gathering of suppliers and merchants in the country will be showcased on the grounds of the nation’s premier cycling venue. From pro cycling apparel and equipment to children’s bikes, the Swap Meet features all things cycling, new and used and all prices are negotiable.
15 different commercial vendors traveling from across the country include, Beacon Bicycles, Nestors, Green Mountain Cyclery, Keswick, Donnelly Imports, Long’s Cycle Shop, Spa Sport, Base Camp Adventure Outfitters, Bike Surplus, Cycle Sport Inc., Champion Systems, Guy’s Bicycles, along with over 175 individual vendors! More than 2,500 people attended the Cycling Center’s 2006 Fall Swap Meet and this year, the track is expecting a similar turnout for the largest “Fall Bicycle Swap Meet†in the nation.
Don’t miss this opportunity to take advantage of the best deals in cycling equipment! This event is open to the public and there is a $5 admission fee. Children 12 and under get in the gates for free. For further information please visit valleypreferredcycling.com ——————————— I also found this schedule of other swap meets from the thewheelman.org
its a little late for 2007, but maybe this will give you an idea other places to get good deals. *Please note, dates may be wrong, because…T-Town’s date was off by a week. Its the 13th of October not the 7th.
October continues to rock here in the big city. Just coming off the MASH premiere and all that went with it…next up:
Saturday, October 13th is the final race of the most elaborate series in alleycat history. CK and his team have been working out all the details for an event which should be a fitting end to this intense season. (of course we still have the Halloween weekend and Cranksgiving…but that is another story) BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN.
For those participating and paying attention. B4B is the final race. Race is starting at 1500 hrs (3pm). It was pushed back because peoples want to go to Trexler Town in Pennsalvania, one of the largest bicycle swap meets. (see posting)
The race is actually a series of mini-games and short races including a team time race, an individual hill climb, relay race, drag racing, a skid slalom race, tricks, stands and an alley-crit.
This will be a spectator friendly event with group rides to the start/finish lines of the various contests. The site 5 boro generals, will be posting a schedule so people can find out where all the action is.
Who will take it all: Dan, Crihs, Austin, Pete? Come find out.
Then on Sunday: Squid from cyclehawk couriers wanted to have this posted for a great cause:
This is a group ride (not a race) for all riders to donate to a man who has done a lot for the cycling community.
-Chris Thornton wrote: Last fall, Fernando Cuevas was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and he has been battling the disease ever since. Fernando has touched the lives of many young bike racers, including my own, and has made an impact in the cycling community through his involvement in the America’s Cycling Team program as well as his time spent at Kissena velodrome.
This is a ride for anyone, racers and non-racers alike, to show support for Fern and his family. It will begin at the Central Park Boathouse at 8 AM on October 14. A race flyer will be available soon. 100% of monetary contributions not necessary for putting on the ride will go directly to Fernando.
Andy Zalan, from 2006 perverts invitational in DC. photos by demoncats from tour LeMond:
Congratulations to Washington DC’s own Andy Zalan, race organizer, messenger, tricks master…nice work. This comes from Joe Hendry of messmedia.org: “The International Federation of Bicycle Messenger Associations (IFBMA) is pleased to announce that Washington DC messenger Andy Zalan has been awarded the 2007 Markus Cook Award. The Cook Award is given annually to bike messengers who best represent the camaraderie and community spirit of the international messenger community. In the past year, Andy set up the Destination Dublin race series in Washington that enabled several DC messengers to travel to the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. His annual bike messenger calendar is a tribute to those who work day in and day out.
However, beyond Andy’s accomplishments of the last year, lies a decade long history of community advocacy and bridge building among American and European messengers. Andy is one of the founders of the District of Columbia Bike Couriers Association, one of the first organizers of alleycat racing in Washington and he brought the world to his city as host of the 1998 Cycle Messenger World Championships.
Andy has been instrumental to the continued success of the CMWC and is a critical component of the international messenger community. In his nomination for the award, veteran Swiss messenger, Luk Keller accurately summed up the international messenger community’s appreciation of Andy Zalan:
“He never loses the spirit. He unites every aspect of what I like about messengers (he’s uncomplicated, he can race, he can party, he’s good-looking, he’s smart, friendly, badass…helpful) and by being the way he is he unites the messenger mob with the messenger snob.”
With all this in mind, the IFBMA and previous Markus Cook Award winners are pleased to welcome Andy to the list of winners.”
New York City’s bike community provides. This Saturday was the New York premiere of the freestyle track bike riding sensation: MASH SF. This 1 hour video, three years in the making from film makers/photographers Gabe Morford and Michael Martin, is the first of its kind to present track bikes in the same visual documentation synonymous with bmx, skate and snowboard videos. The two filmmakers, hailing out of the bay area, achieved a fluid visual style, showing off their top riders and utilizing the varied topography of San Francisco proper. That’s right…long, steep, winding HILLS. 17 members make up the MASH crew of bikers, each with their own unique style. Some messengers, some former skateboarders and some new to the idea of riding a 4 block wheelie on a bicycle designed for a spandex Olympic athlete on a velodrome. Track bikes have been in the spotlight for years and its no surprise the level of ability both for riders and for the bikes themselves, but MASH SF brings it the big screen and there is no doubt this video has and will influence the scene.
Gabe Morford was in town to show the complete video for the first time in NYC. MASH SF, has taken many forms, first as a trailer distributed widely on the internet, then as a shorter version first being unveiled at last years bicycle film festival. Now the movie has premiered in its home town of SF, and beginning to travel which brought Gabe to NYC. Then its back to LA and then to Tokyo, where track bike culture has recently exploded.
I called Gabe on Saturday to try and set up an interview to get more of the story behind the film. I hadn’t heard from him and assumed he wad just busy with the hectic schedule of setting up the screening. Sunday he called back with an apology. Turns out he had just gotten out of jail. No more than an hour or so in New York, Gabe was fixing his bike for the abuse of airplane travel. He rode up on the sidewalk in Brooklyn and was stopped by undercover officers who saw a small clip in his front pants pocket. Turns out Gabe had a pocket knife which later turned out to be enough of a blade to somehow merit felony charges. I’d love to laugh this off and file under a humorous “Welcome to New York,†but come on…lucky he wasn’t an African immigrant or we might be filing this under a coroners report. Well, welcome to Police state New York.
After a night in the tombs, getting a lawyer to smooth a felony down to community service in SF, and a busted tooth (unrelated), Gabe was ready to begin the enjoying himself portion of this sour experience. First up was an alleycat race put on by Kyle of Skate/BMX/Track bike boutique: Dave’s Quality Meats and Brad of Trackstar, local hangout, bike shop, purveyor of slick parts to up your ride’s slick appearance and your body with cool clothes.
About 30 riders showed up to race at the bike polo grounds at Broome and Chrystie. The Sunday ritual pick up gang was going on in the sunken court while players nursed hangovers. The racers waited as grey clouds rolled overhead with a possible threat of rain. Racer lined up against the wall with their bike out of site in the ramp leading to the polo courts. Here, race organizers put their manifests in their spokes so no one had any advance notice of the checkpoints and it was on. Chris Ryan of team spider was shooting for me. He lives the Fuck brakes lifestyle named after his bands new album. Now when I say fuck brakes, I don’t mean a brakeless fixed gear, that you can stop with your feet. I mean…fuck brakes…no working brakes except to hear the Fred Flinstone scaping sound behind me of Chris’s Vans as he tries to make some attempt to slow down. Wait this is the guy carring the expensive video camera?
After the start of the race, we head over to the closest checkpoint at Trinity and Exchange Place which turned out to be on of the last points before the finish since all of the racers head to destinations uptown first. The off the cuff goal at this checkpoint was to pick one of the dead flowers in a box, give it to a complete stranger and say something romantic. Doug, hit the checkpoint first in about 40 minutes. We all had a great time watching sweaty racers trying to give a mangled flower to tourists. We got great footage of this.
Then we rode to the finish which was also the site of a Tricks competition hosted by Cadence Clothing. Doug, of local food delivery and polo king, won the race in record time. Congratulations. Here are the race results:
1. doug (free) 2. crihs (track) 3. jersey dan (track) 4. raphael negron (track) 5. andrew (free) 6. yatika (track)
Thanks Crihs for posting this. (I sure as hell didn’t know what was up)
The tricks event was down at the Banks, famous skate and bmx spot under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side. The place was filled with skaters going off ramps and bmx riders getting serious air on a side of the bridge itself. The Banks got their name for their brick, steep sides which cover one whole length, under the bridge, about 2 blocks long. Its amazing this place exists and thankfully it has remained the same way for decades. Check out this old school video. Back in the day.
This was a fun day…spent watching the emergence of a new style of bike riding…doing tricks on track bikes. People began to see the possibilities. Mike Dee and Kym Perfetto were our host of short webisode we are making at play in traffic productions…coming soon to blog near you…hint hint. They spent time interviewing the film maker Gabe and Garret a MASH rider who came to NYC to hang out, one of the stars of the movie. One of Cadence riders tore it up on his Brooklyn Machine works bike, making it look like the ease of a BMX bike.
Then everyone got down for a great game of footdown and battled it out till about 6:00pm I think NYC’s Pablo won it.
Then a nice group shot of the event, which I didn’t seem to get in focus. I blame my camera…yeah that’s it.
So then it was time for the big event, the screening of MASH SF at the Saint Marks Church in the East Village. Thanks to Frank Morales, this has always been a safe haven for bike activists and was where we all sought refuge during the police attack of the Republican National Convention. Time’s up was on hand, volunteering as valet bike parking, but many guests choose the obvious hanging their bike on the fence.
The screening was packed and there was a real excitement in the air. The song by the Bay area band: The Mall set off the screening, basically replaying the trailer which we have all been jamming to on youtube and the MASH website. Awesome.
The movie was a great achievement both for the ridership and for the shooting with the difficult covering of bikes going top speed in traffic.
People cheered at all the tricks and laughed at the some of the brief glimpses into the characters of the MASH crew.
We talked with EMI and Massan of the movie and the conclusion was clear…It doesn’t matter what you wear, if your rim color matches your frame…just do one thing: RIDE BIKES. ahh, if only it were that simple.
There was a lot of talk of NYC trying to push the limit and represent the grimy side that makes NYC so unique. It may not have been the intention of the film makers but I can bet 2 things were going on in people’s heads as the left the screening:
1) The Mall’s catchy punk song…
2) and what tricks can I do on my fixed gear…(I bet everyone rode just a little bit harder)
and probably thoughts of how to put in all into a video, NYC’s response.
Many people will have different responses to this video, which is what Gabe predicted would be the first thing people who do after the screening:
Here is an honest reflection of the movie, but more about the scene…giving props to the old skool riders, the working SF messengers…Respect DUE: Check out Messnyc’s perspective on MASH SF from BILL DOZER
