Hellbound And Pedalling
The Smith St band were in town last weekend playing shows with Luca Brasi and my band Ride the Tiger. These dudes are all bike riders and beer lovers so Mischa and I welcomed into the Bottles and Chains family with the shortest silo run in history (we may have not really even made as far as the silos!). Continue reading “Smith St, Hobart”
With the big lap of France just around the corner I find myself wondering who will capture the hearts of spectators in this year’s installment. We all have our favorites and it’s safe to say the most interesting riders are not always the best. Sure we’re keen for Cadel to fly the flag for Australia and all that but lets be honest, the dude is terminally boring. Contador is a right nonce, and Armstrong is so conceited I’m surprised no one has thrown a stick in his spokes. It’s the guys that have zero chance of winning but don’t mind a bit of fun that become the cult heroes of the race.
Thomas Voeckler loves a yellow jersey and doesn’t mind showing it off, a bit of a crowd favorite.
Robbie McEwen wins stages, pops wheelies and calls a spade a spade, a true Australian hero.
But here at Bottles and Chains we champion the riders that aren’t afraid to flaunt the rules and get loose. Thats why we can’t wait for someone to emulate our favorite rider of all time, a legend who didn’t mind quitting as soon as there was a hill, a guy who paid the fine for not riding in uniform every day so he could race around in stupid shorts…
The inaugural Bottles and Chains Copenhagen chapter ride took place in August. No helmets, 3 speed hubs, dodgy breaks and boozy riding are the par for the course in Denmark so I fit in just fine. Continue reading “Bottles and Chains ride Copenhagen”
Rise Against have done alot in their existance as a band, more lineup changes than is worth counting, a couple of record labels, a quintet of albums and shitloads of tours. Basically the only thing that has remained a constant throughout is the fact that they’ve been getting steadily worse. Each album seems to get shitter than the last (with the possible exception of Revolutions Per Minute which is probably as good as The Uravelling but… you get the point).
So what a surprise I got when I found a copy of their latest work and discovered that they’ve written some ripper songs this time around. I was expecting a bunch of radio singles, slow and with big choruses and there are a few, sure, but there is also a powerload or awsome stuff too. And having expected it to be bad, well… it just makes it even better. Check it out.
[audio:http://www.disconnectrecords.com/mp3s/05-rise_against-kotov_syndrome.mp3]
Mish-Mash snuck off quietly a few months ago and came back only to escape once again with Benny in tow, this time they’ve headed up to the rock. Dave pissed of yonks ago and has finally surfaced again in Canada (thats his photo up there…). Hunnibell is posting from London. Tim is riding back home in Holland/Belgium/Europe somewhere!?
What does it all mean? Continue reading “Where is everyone?”
It’s finally rolled around again, the time of the year when coffee addictions soar, communication with family and friends becomes labored beyond sufferance and tempers shorten with every stage. The Tour!
THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN OUR GRIPPING SAGA
Fortunately before too long Mischa’s keen eyes spotted what appeared an ancient, overgrown horse and buggy road which lead away down the hill. We decided to follow it figuring it must join up to a road somewhere. We were right. A raucous bash down the dodgy old road ended in an abrupt halt when we were confronted by a barbed wire fence that cut right across the path. As we desperately skidded to a stop and the bracken settled we could clearly hear the sweet sound of tyre on asphalt. We had found the highway. Ben lead on AS Mischa and I followed and we carried our bikes over one last fence, through a ditch and over a blackberry bush to finally stumble out onto our own ‘yellow brick road’. Never mind that this road was black and sticky with the heat, it was going to lead us straight to the Longley hotel and sweet relief. Continue reading “Riding our luck. PART 2”
A SORDID TALE OF THIRST AND PUNISHMENT IN THREE PARTS.
After a brutal bender of a Christmas/New Year period it was about time to get back into the saddle and finally get more blood than booze pumping around the old arteries. Saturday morning was the designated time and Treadlies bike shop in Kingston the place. Early on there seemed to be a fair bit of interest in the mountain bike run which would take us climbing up out of Kingston, paddock bashing down to Longley and back again via some beautiful flowing single-track.
The fist obstacle of the day was the heat. Hobart really turned it on for us with a cloudless 32 degrees. Too brutal for a ride? Most obviously thought so because when we set out there were only 3 hardcore B’n’C faithful churning the pedals.
Continue reading “Riding our luck. PART 1”
