what to do, what to do

there's been so much going on i have trouble keeping up.
even though the school program is out for summer,
and my other job is a bit slow right now,
it seems that there's always some happening.
which is great, don't get me wrong.
but in an effort to record,
where do i start?

highlights have been for sure:

1.
attending my friend and student's
(from the after-school program)
martial arts tournament last week.
he competed in karate kata,
weapons kata, and sparring.
he won two trophies!


here's him kicking stomach!
he's only 7 years old!

2.
spending an entire day up in point reyes
with my uncle and auntie and
a handful of their family friends.
we hiked out to the beach,
and then back up and out
to a ridge where we could see elk.


it still amazes me just how easy
it is to get out to places like these.
if you have a car, that is..

3.
well i've been riding my bike a ton.
that should come as no surprise.
i've finally found a few riders
that i can always hit up
for all sorts of sessioning.

and i've also been racing a bit,
and feeling pretty good about it.
i'm excited for when i return home,
when i can race my home streets.
i really can't say why i haven't before..

4.
i've also found truly interested
potential students to teach kali.
this possibility brings me much hope.
as i may be teaching a program
next year at the elementary school,
i need to make this summer
very productive and progressive.
i am hopeful i can make that happen.

5.
i'm going to vancouver next week!!!
the last time i visited was 3 years ago,
and i'm still psyched on the place.
i'm bring a bike; it's going to be ill.

6.
oops, almost forgot nick and inner sunset.
a friend and i went bike riding,
met up with another friend,
continued bike riding,
and then chilled at the second friend's house,
where we played with music all evening.
i am sparked to learn an instrument again.
and just to get into music again. yes!

7.
damn there's a bunch of stuff huh!?
sorry not too many pictures..
but yeah there's a bunch of stuff
going on this weekend in oakland!
music events, community parties,
bike riding and food eating, etcetera.

i seriously hate leaving oakland these days.
it's warmer, cooler, and cheaper.
forget about the city! east bay! haha..

anyways i guess i can say life is good.
in short.

riding a lot

this weekend is going to take its toll i'm sure.
i rode almost all day today!!

this early afternoon i hit up joaquin miller park with my friend james. we went fixed gear trail riding and it was fun as hell! i thought that simply riding a hardtail helped you with your line, but on a cross bike (i took the tricross out today) that whole perception is magnified. you've gotta be on your TOES when descending rock gardens on thin tires and carbon parts. definitely not what i'm used to.

and then we returned to oakland and continued on with our track bikes! i dunno how many cumulative miles we rolled but it was a few. and tomorrow i ride again! to thai brunch in berkeley. and then street sessioning with photos. fun fun fun, i will admit. i just can't make time for anything else but riding my bike. and maybe i'm happy that way.

the oakland scrape 08

okay so i raced my first alleycat this past weekend!
it was a fundraiser for the SF bicycle messenger association,
or more specifically their broken bones fund
that helps out messengers that have been injured on the job.
i mean shit; i give props to (and envy) those who are able to ride all day for work.
but considering how many hours and miles you spend on the road on that job,
and the potential for disaster is much much higher and more serious.
so this was a good opportunity to show respect, help out, and also have fun!

the race started at lake merritt and spanned a good bit north and west of oakland.
super hilly, super fun, with a great turnout (180 registered racers!!).
anyways i don't really have that much more to say about it;
i had a great time, made a few new friends,
placed in the top third of the field,
and took home a few t-shirts.

here are photos of the racers from one of the checkpoints.
(shot with a phase one p25!!!)
here is the flickr photopool as well.

postscript:
i admit, i never thought i'd ever race an alleycat.
i mean i never thought i'd ever ride a fixed gear either!
after years of dismissing it and sticking to bmx,
and being convinced that i was real fast on my brooklyn.
i just can't deny its simplicity and smoothness.
and how effortlessly fast they go.
yes; i am loving it.

the new colors of bmx?

forget the neon/hypebeast bmx colorways of yesteryear.
will the new trend be uni-color bikes (that aren't blacked out)?

from the fit site:


from the kink site:


not that it matters all that much to me,
i'll still build my bikes rather conventionally toned,
but i saw both these bikes with a day of each other. wild.