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.

the beat goes on

the beat of my feet on pavement (rare)
the thump of my knees pushing through revolutions
the hop of my back wheel through traffic

time is running
and with each step something happens
and something changes

i may have more to say
just not today

capabilities

it was the tour de cure.
a national fundraising bicycle ride
for the american diabetes association.
i registered in february
and rode yesterday.
on team lanesplitter.

the numbers:
i rode 50 miles.
on a fixed gear of 70.9 gear inches.
meaning i spun 44,682 revolutions
in sometime over 3 hours.
...i slept 13 hours last night.

it was a beautiful ride through napa.
the morning was foggy and overcast and cold,
and i was freezing in a short-sleeve jersey,
but i rode hard enough from the start
that i stopped feeling anything
until the sun came out later.

the trees and fields in the valley were pretty
when i had the chance to look at them.
(my focus was on pace and safe riding.)
the slight hills crested over the warm green
and under the bright, clear, blue sky.
one early pass had lush, arching tree cover
from both sides of the road.
that was a beautiful minute.

by the last third of the 50 the muscles in my elbows
were sorer than they had been in the morning.
(i slept in a hammock the night before,
and woke with strange tensions in my limbs.)
my knees, calves, and hamstrings began
taking turns telling me how they felt.
my back and butt were fine though;
an affirming feeling.

on the last mile i pulled a sprint out of me
and it was about all i had left.
it was a happy completion.

time flies!!!

holy crap it's already mid-april!
i sent in my taxes yesterday (yay?)!

situation normal, business as usual.

newish photos on flickr from heading up to marin this past weekend,
a day off the bike and on the beach,
much needed.

and now i'm back to riding my bikes.
took my brooklyn to work yesterday,
remembered how much fun freewheel flying is.
especially downhill on that bike. sweet!

snuck into high-level parking garages last night with daniel and our bikes.
fun like a scene out of carnival street life. fun on bikes!



have a good mid-day of the mid-week!

days go on

apologies to the readers for the recent ebb of entries.. the past weeks have seen a great high and a sorrowful low; such that compose the reality of living, and teach you to uphold your strength and still embrace your vulnerability.

---

things in the bay have been well. i now work two part-time jobs like one full-time job;. they are both quite different and across the city from each other, so i get a nice little bike ride in between them during lunchtime.

i've met my fund-raising goal for the tour de cure i'll be riding in may. training rides have gone well. riding in general is great and i'm feeling stronger every day.

carrying my camera more often means shooting more photos, so check out my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatkidnate/ and there might be something new.

that's about it for now.
be well.

life passing

and i don't have words for it
because for life's passing
language is meaningless

in itself it is simply a part of the cycle
yet its repercussions are felt through every branch of the tree
we will hurt, then pull together and draw strength from each other

in the least, i will remember his strength and spirit that always will be