Hellbound And Pedalling
Ok you blood suckers, here’s the itinerary! It’s late, I had no sleep last night thanks to the Paris-Roubaix, I spent too many hours at work and I smell of curry. For these reasons, it’s probably a bit shabby and might have some spelling mistakes or minor fuck-ups. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out! Download it and print it out several times. Put a copy in your pocket, one in your bum bag, one down your pants, and one in your luggage. It tells you what’s going on, so it will be handy.
The itinerary refers to ‘The Map’ a few times. Because it just ticked over to midnight I’m going to wait until tomorrow to try find time to draw up a map (probably unlikely, but I’ll try) . If you need instant gratification, please just search for the places on Google Maps. ‘Salamanca Place Hobart’ should find the Salamanca Lawns for you. Find the corner of Brisbane Street and Campbell Street and you’ll have the location of The Brisbane Hotel. The top of ‘Tolosa Street Glenorchy’ will point you to the MTB park. The West Hobart Skate Bowl is a little trickier and I will try to get details instructions for that (I think it’s off Lochner Street)!
Anyway, here it is:
Just so everyone knows, there will be registration available on the Saturday for the SS Nats! No problem if you want to wait, although advance rego makes things easier for us. I’ll be posting up an itinerary tonight with the plan for each day, I’ve just been too flat out!
The weekend is going to shred!
We’ve also got some bloody awesome prizes coming in. A VOODOO SINGLESPEED bike, holy fuck! Thanks to Treadlies down in Kingston. Plus a shitload of other good gear including t-shirts, shoes, records, helmets, tools, clothing, gloves, and heaps of other good gear. Everyone loves to win free shit!
Bike punx, be aware! I just scored an $80 ticket for running a red light in the city centre. All well and good, running reds is illegal and dangerous and getting a ticket is just another risk if you are prone to do it. However, the circumstances involved posed little danger to myself, pedestrians or other road users and it may be worth being aware of for anyone else out there using the roads on their friendly, pollution-free, minimal impact, low space transport. I approached a red light at the corner of Collins St and Elizabeth St, at the corner of the mall. Rather than stopping at the light I rolled left onto the footpath at the end of the mall, paused for a moment to look for a fellow BnC member, before beginning to continue on my way.
Unfortunately the police car waiting at the lights decided that today was the day when there was little else to do, and my number came up. Understandably I’m a little bitter, given the number of times dangerous and illegal moves from cars have endangered my life with no repercussions. What a cunt.
End whinge. Fuck.
This one’s for Quon.
Nike Dunk Gyrizo (Greek for wheel)
BMX
BMX, or Bicycle Moto Cross is the non-motorized version of motocross, but also includes freestyle and jumping. The sport is making its Olympic debut in Beijing this August and Nike athletes will be outfitted in innovative footwear and uniforms.
“Looks like a dunk, but acts like Lance’s cleat.” That statement sums up the power and impact of the Nike Dunk Gyrizo, a shoe specifically designed for BMX racing. The Gyrizo, which is Greek for wheel, is actually built on the same cycling last as Lance Armstrong’s cleat. The external portion of the shoe looks like Nike’s wildly popular Dunk model, but the design of the internal plate transfers power in the up and down strokes of the rider. A strap on the upper and a lace pocket keep laces out of the rider’s spokes while a durable outsole compound was integrated to accommodate a wider bike pedal. Kevlar lace and metal grommets are also used to maximize durability. Rubber and thinner midsole on the shoe allow a rider to walk easily before and after races.
I’m not exactly a Nike fan, but I might rock that shit. Yo.
Link.
BnC HQ had a bit of a shindig last night to celebrate Monday’s launch of the brand new album from Hobart punks Ballpoint. It just so happened that Ben and I had spent the day commuting to Devonport and back to pick up the LCCC’s roller racing set up and arrived back just as the party was kicking off. Naturally we’re in our element when beer is onsumed in close proximity to bikes (ask Ben, Nic and Rozzi about their recent drunken crashes and resulting cuts/grazes/bruises/destroyed helmets). One thing lead to another and before we knew it the rollers were in the lounge room, the clock was set to go, and Nic and Ben had stripped down to their underwear for a true BnC style battle to the finish line.
Unfortunately neither were sober enough to stay upright for very long and the race was soon abandoned so that more beer could be consumed. Regardless, the impromptu event was a sure sign of the chaos and bedlam that will undoubtedly occur at the BnC Roller Derby on April 19, as part of the 08 SS Nationals. In Tasmania we get serious about our racing, and clothing is optional and definitely not encouraged.
On another somewhat related note, if anyone has some good advice on getting vomit smell out of a couch, please let us know as we’d like to be able to hang out in our lounge room again some time soon.
*IMPORTANT*
If you downloaded the registration form prior to 10:30pm on Thursday night, please download it again! Some payment details were updated!
Aiiight suckers! Registration for the 2008 AUSTRALIAN SINGLESPEED NATIONALS is finally open. Yeah, I got my shit together eventually. Break out your pen, bust open your wallet, then go pay the post office a visit. Tell all your friends!
Ol’ Ken Self made a few frames back in the day and as you probably know, we’re big fans. I ride one, Ben owns one, the image up the top is a close-up of one, etc. They’re brilliant bikes with a great build quality and very sweet geometry. Luckily we keep managing to find more of them!
The latest find comes from John over in Perth, who picked up this beautiful example of Ken’s Work. A slightly older frame judging by the fork crown, but as sweet as ever. One of the special things about Ken’s frames is that every example we’ve seen so far has had hand-painted lettering lovingly applied. No decals here, just paint straight onto the frame. This one’s no different, with a beautiful white serif outlined in gold and tastefully shadowed. The elegant ‘S’ on the head tube is more than worthy of leading the pack around the velodrome.
The bike (and John) is going to be hitting the boards over in Perth soon, so if you’re from the far West, be sure to keep your eye out for it.
You can view the rest of the detail photos over in the BnC gallery on Facebook. Do it!
Aiiight. You know there ain’t nothing that goes together like bikes and beer. That shit’s as basic as the need to reproduce, or nerds playing dungeons and dragons. It makes sense. Which is probably why I keep stumbling across more and more bike gangs and groups of alcoholics dedicated to mixing the two, with fucking brilliant results. The latest find is The Fucking Bike Gang, from some place I’m unsure of. Where ever the hell it is, it looks cold most of the time, so I can relate to that. Regardless of the weather, they look like yet another loose crew. There seems to be plenty of riding, heavy boozing, stupid costumes, random bikes and general fuckaroundery.
A quick heads-up for the Hobart crew. Most of you will know about the track from Shoobridge Bend to Junction Cabin on Mt Wellington that’s been under construction for a good while now. It’s very close to complete but it’s not finished! Word is that the track will be open in about a month, but currently needs to be assessed for safety stuff. The rangers are currently keeping a very close eye on the track and illegal riders are being fined! A few people got done on the weekend, so don’t imagine that you’ll get away with it. The track is going to be a great ride once it’s open, so don’t ruin all the good work by riding it prematurely.
Ok, enough mothering from us. Go get drunk and ride!
