Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Oh Yeah!


Willie Nelson says thanks for calling him on his birthday.

Where We Live II


If you are a regular reader of the Snot Rocket, you'll know that beyond bikes, transportation and barley pop, my interests sometimes ramble to the design of human dwellings. In past posts, I've talked about yurts and earthships. Recently,I was reading an essay in the latest issue of Dwell Magazine about the pending demolition of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo. I did an internet search for it, and ended up spending several hours looking at some pretty interesting housing developments from the past that had the future in mind. The photo at the top of the post is of Habitat in Montreal. Pretty wild, eh?
A couple of years ago, I was borderline obsessed with buying a plastic dome from Dome Village out in LA when they closed it down. The domes were sold off on E-Bay for around $3K, and had about 350 square feet of living space. Small, but it is more about a mindset I think than stuff. What do we really need?
Finally, I came across Container City which really piqued my interest as I'm in shipping containers a couple of times a month, and I know you could get your hands on one for pretty cheap. When you get a few minutes, check some of these places out. And if you know of some others, let me know.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Know Nothing

Once again, I don't claim to know much about art, or claim to be an artist. I do know however that Style Wars was a film I really enjoyed, and there is a good article about it here. If you haven't seen the film, do yourself a favor, head down to the local video store and snap it up. While you are there, and in an urban documentary mood, get Dark Days too.

Speakin Da Truth


Got an email from my buddy Jeff Holt, it says:

"We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an election.

On one side, you have a b*tch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a lawyer who is married to a b*tch who is a lawyer.

On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge chest who owns a beer distributorship.

Is there a contest here?"

God damn it, they got a point.

In other news, the ride back home last night into a constant head wind was f-ing brutal. I had to stop for provisions at Chipoltle for love of Jesus. The Folsom is a great bike, but was pedaling the WHOLE time. Uff Da! The only reasonable thing to do upon arrival at home 2 hours after I left workd, was sit in a hot bath, build a fire and fall asleep on the couch. At 8 pm. I'm a real tough guy.

Monday, April 28, 2008

It Works Every Time

"Colt 45 is stereotyped as being popular among people with low incomes, such as the working class or students, due to its low price and high alcohol content. Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California also conducted a study which showed that malt liquor is favored by homeless, unemployed drinkers."
You don't say. Well, I'm employed and I have a home, and I love that stuff. Tastes like a sunny day.

Ah, Monday.


Sometimes Mondays really make me feel like a monkey on a string riding a small bicycle for the delight of asian people...Other times, it just feels like a boot to the side of the head.
MOTAB last night was pretty sparsely attended, but none the less fun. I brought the Folsom and let several folks ride it with the agreement they would give me their honest opinion. It has been agreed that the Folsom is the "Essential party bike". I take that to be a good thing, as many folks brought it back and skidded to a stop with a big smile on their face.
Sounds like Jeff at Revolution is going to start stocking the Swobo bike line. Sweet.
It was sunny and cool on the ride in, the ride home looks like it is going to be wet and cold...The above image is a shot that Colin took of the trophy from last night's MOTAB won by Scott. That is the head tube off of one of the new Trek all mountain bikes. when flipped upside down the lower cup that fits a new 1.5 inch cup fits a can of Blatz almost TOO well, if you get my drift.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Never Ending Quest


As long as I've been riding, I've been looking for that perfect bar. Above is a sample of what is in the well currently. Still looking. I've got a set of On One Mary bars that I'm pretty fond of, and the wife seems to like hers. But the Nittos, WTB dirt drops, Bridgestone arc bars, etc. I just keep around and try from time to time on various bike builds. If there was one thing I'd really like to make, it would be bars. I mean, how hard can that be?
Also, a friend of a friend was killed in Chicago last week while riding his bike. Sad news indeed. You can read about it here.
Be safe out there.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

A Simple Joy

Sitting at home today, windy as hell. Just watched the Red Wings beat the Avalanche in NHL hockey playoffs. Like old times, it's a real treat to see a game live from the Joe!
Shafts of sunlight filling the living room, sleepy dogs. Rode the pit bike up to the beer store for a 12-er of High Life and the wind stopped me in my tracks coming home. Forecast for tomorrow says snow. WTF?
One of these days, gonna get the mountain bike out...who is up for riding to Blue Mounds, gettin' growlers @ the Troll, building a fire, sleepin' on the ground, get up in the morning to drink some cowboy coffee, pinnin' some single track and riding back to Madison?
Email me fools!

Friday, April 25, 2008

The Weekend


Done got here just in time...hoowee, kids. It's been a blur for the most part. Spring is here, the trails are drying out (and getting wet again) just like they do every year. And may is just around the corner.
I'll be damned if I didn't see a mosquito this morning though when I was heading out on my walk about.
If you haven't seen this, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

ZR In New Bike Mag


If you click on the above, you can read the review I wrote of my ZR Cycles 650b hardtail. It is appearing in the forth coming issue of Bike Magazine.
Pretty rad for Zack who is out in Colorado mountain biking as you read this. He'll have another review of a different bike in an upcoming issue of Mountain Flyer magazine.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Get Ready

The experts are saying the cost of oil is going to keep on rising...get ready to start riding.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Overloaded


Sunday was a day that overloaded me with stimuli. Started the day by heading up to the Swap Meet at the 151 Speedway near Columbus. Typical Swap folks and fare: LPs, military items, random motorcycle parts, pan flutes, yard art, interesting people…wandered around a bit, but didn’t really see or buy anything that interesting. Headed back to Madison, dropped the wife off at a BBQ, and met up with EO, ZR and Jeff from Revolution to caravan to Milwaukee for the Kraftwerk show. The weather yesterday was perfect, sunny and mild, with just enough of a breeze to feel nice.
Made it to the city quickly, had some pizza, saw the new Sanchez Painting facility, rode in a casket elevator…had a few beers, and rolled thru Washington Park to the Rave.
I’d never been to a show in the Eagle’s Ballroom, and wow, I was missing out. Great room, huge.
Kraftwerk doesn’t need an opening act, and they took the stage at about 8:15 pm and got right down to the business of blowing minds. They opened with my personal favorite, “Man Machine”. They did their thing for about 2 hours, and played the songs people wanted to see. Their stage presence is impressive, and rarely have 8 bit computer graphics ever been so compelling.
After the show, the 4 of us hopped on our bikes, and rolled towards Jason and Carrie’s. Mostly deserted streets awaited us. We made a stop for some greasy food at JJ’s, where EO and Jeff passed their $ through a bullet proof window…
We pedaled the magical road that passes between the Miller Brewery and the Harley Davidson Factory, which makes a guy proud to be a ‘Merican!
Back at the house, we bullshitted with Jonny Cycles who’d ridden down to Milwaukee from Madison, and watched the DVD of MASH.
If you haven’t seen it, I’ll sum it up for you: guys doing stupid shit on fixed gear bikes in traffic. Lots of skids. I got tired and fell asleep during it.
We got up this morning, five dudes all over the living room, and drank a bunch of coffee, and rolled back to Madison a couple of hours ago.
I wouldn’t say I’m at my sharpest right now, but this is an interesting way to start a week…

Friday, April 18, 2008

Friday Is A Doorway


To the freedom of the weekend. Earthquake woke me up this morning, it was very weird. Our house was making lots of cracking sounds...
Kraftwerk show on Sunday night has me pretty stoked for sure. I might try to get over and do some trail building with the CORP @ Camrock this weeknd. Also, an email from a friend has let me know that, for now at least, the Kettles are open for riding. That is good news. I'm going to throw some knobbies on the Folsom for some single track duty.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Racin'


Most of the time, I’m the guy on the left. Feel free to race all you want, if that’s your thing, go with it. It ain’t mine. Just Riding Along does it for me. However, from time to time, I kit up and throw down at a race. Yesterday I agreed to team with Planet Hayden for a 2 Man 12 Hour combo for this summers 24 Hours of 9 Mile. Yeah I know what you are saying, “only 12 hours?”
Yep.
I’ll be drinking beers and eating bacon cheese burgers at about 10 minutes after 10 pm. And it’s going to be sweet. Word on the street is we’ll have a big compound again this year, maybe not Disco Pirates, but it will be something high concept you can bet on that!
In other news, I heard today that Oil has hit $114 a barrel. Awesome.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Reason To H8


As I'm checking it over an logging my serial number, I find one more reason to H8 my new Folsom.
Scored some SWEET LP's this morning on the walk. A big stack on the side of the road. The only one not being held down by a rock was Nugent...it was a sign. Top records include, but are not limited to, Air Supply, Huey Lewis, Styx and no lie, Autobahn by Kraftwerk.
Word.

Product Testing Continues

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Ha Ha Ha

I can't stop laughing and smiling! The Folsom is pretty sweet, I must admit. I recall reading a review on the bike on the Wired Mag blog last year. There were a LOT of folks h8ing on this bike. My personal favorite was:

"This bike is the worst. Whoever thought this was a good idea should be shot in the face. Talk about selling to the masses."

I bought this bike specifically because of that comment. What a fucking asshole.

I know the person who designed it, and I happen to think she is pretty smart, and she did a hell of a job on this bike. And after designing the Bianchi Pista, Milano and a bevy of successful one speed mountain bikes, kind of knows what she is doing. I'd take a picture, but I'd rather ride and skid the rest of the day away. later.

Intelligent Design


Above is the new World Trade Center in Bahrain. How do you like it? I think it is perhaps the most elegant building I have ever seen. You can read a bit about it here. I was actually just talking about wind power with my Uncle on Sunday. There are several wind farms springing up in Northern Lower Michigan, and more in the Sault St. Marie area of Ontario.
Not far north of Madison is a large farm in the Horicon marsh area. They are pretty impressive.
The Swobo Folsom showed up today, can't wait to build it up. I'll post a pic later this afternoon.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Bag Of H8. Made With Love.


In the face of a strong headwind on the return to Madison, the H8R race went off with out a hitch. 66 folks showed up and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Thanks to all of the volunteers, the sponsors, the racers and especially Djonn for throwing such a kick ass event!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Gettin' Ready


We are getting stuff ready for the H8R tomorrow. Sounds like the weather has been kind of rough on the course, read: knocked down some trees. Djonn just called from the trail during a marking mission. He said it is like a 60 mile cross race. Sweet. I'll see ya'll tomorrow, and yes the skull bong will be there.
I'd like to pass along a big thanks to every one that sent us prizes at Swobo, Twin 6, War Axe, Cognition, and the Snobs. Thanks!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Craig's List Madison

From the wife just now:

"STEVE PERRY - JOURNEY 8X10 Professional Photo / Prints - *RARE* - $5 (Verona, WI)"

There is no picture, but I can see it in my head, and it is beautiful.

Traffic


The above picture is interesting. In all three frames the same number of people on the move is being represented. After spending a couple of days in Chicago where getting anywhere by car sucks, I am kind of concious of this.
Just pulled the trigger on a Swobo Folsom. Should have it for next week. I cannot wait...I love the part where they say "We wanted a kicked-back urban bash-mobile that can be dropped, stepped on, bike-piled and launched. All our bikes can be ridden in jeans, but the Folsom can be ridden in a snowmobile suit."

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Madison Platinum?

Maybe so, maybe not. Thats cool, folks will always be haters of people on bikes. I'm from Detroit, and rode all over in Lansing and Kalamazoo. That is car country, folks. Your city doesn't need to have a Platinum rating to ride your bike. Just ride!

Traveling Man

Just got back from Chicago, man, I'm on the road so much, I might as well get a rig and start haulin' freight too.
Spent yesterday evening at Lexco, pimpin' the goods, and ran into some old friends, even made a new one. I told Jason from Wald I'd give them a shout out on the site. "What will you put in your basket" Wald asks? I will put many, many beers in mine.
Also, saw a real old buddy, Jeff Buerman. He was the Bontrager (the bike) rep at the first shop I worked at back in 1997. I think the last time I saw him, we were huddling under a tree in a hail storm during the Chain Drive race in Houghton, Michigan back in like 2000. I asked him about his son Ryan who was just a little guy as I recall, well now he is a 20 year old Marine! Wow, I am gettin old.
Thanks to Karen and Erik for letting me crash at their hacienda last night. Bork, you make a hell of a good turkey sandwich my man!
About the facial hair, my old boss Roy says:
"It makes you look like a red-neck fag from Portland"
Awesome, mission accomplished I guess.
Here is Creepy's recap of Artcrank. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Just watching some YouTube vids of Paris-Roubaix, awesome, I can never get enough of that stuff!
H8R coming up quick, I wonder what the weather is going to do...

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I Must' Ache You A Question


New look, same DP. Inspired by Tom and Mark.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Monday Already, Huh?


The weekend goes really quickly when you spend 10 hours riding in a car, and 12 hours drinking beer. However, it is totally worth it to spend time with the classy bike folks in one of my favorite places, Minnieapplepuss.
A quick recap, Jesse and I drove up early on Saturday, talked about a variety of bike related non-sense on the way up, dropped his posters off for Artcrank, had a coffee at CRC coffee, had some really tastey mexican at a little joint called Dominguez's, headed back to CRC where Hurl put us to work fixing a bike or two. By this point we were pretty deep into the beers, and the weather was perfect, making it one of the nicest days outside I've had in a while. We rolled up the garage door on the shop, it was nice.
Stopped by Hurl's crib for some loaner bikes, showed up a little late at the Artcrank show, and it was packed! Lots of really impressive work, many many nice people. Someone later said 700 folks rolled in and out, but there is no way to know. Lots showed up via bicycle. Stayed too late, had a Pizza Luce stop on the way home. Crashed for a few hours, then more coffee at CRC, and rolled over the the world HQ of Twin 6 where Jesse secured the prizes for the H8R race next weekend. Huge thanks to Brent and Rayn at Twin 6. Their stuff is really slick, you should check it out!
Then back in the car, through some serious rain, and home. Slept like a dead animal last night. Thanks for driving Jesse...Tomorrow night to Chicago, then the H8R and Paris-Roubaix this weekend. Let the spring roll.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Oh Man

Artcrank was awesome. Minneapolis is awesome. My body is very worn out. I drank a lot of coffee and even more beer in the last 24 hours. Enough to keep my dry for a few days. Glad to be home. Thanks Hurl for the hospitality. Thanks Brent for all the hook ups!

More tomorrow.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Friday...

Like a mercy killing, Friday is upon us. It is so nice outside, and I am in the office alone, staring out the window. The Clash is playing loudly, and I know I have some very tasty Chinese left overs to look forward to for lunch.
Headed to 1on1 this weekend for Artcrank with Mr. Lalonde. Sounds like we'll have a Zito stow away on the way up, which should make the drive VERY entertaining.

Maybe we'll see you there?

Thursday, April 03, 2008

The Magazine Shall Not Die


It is a well documented fact that I am a fan of magazines. Not just bike magazines either, although my wife would argue that point. Perhaps it is an afinity for ephemera or just that I have a short attention span, but I'd rather pick up a copy of Bike, Dwell, Wired or National Geographic than a book.
However, I've found that as good as American mags are, ones from the UK are often better. First off, the UK version of FHM is way better than the worthless rag you can pick up her in the States. Another example, this new surfing mag Drift strikes a cord like the Surfers Journal does. Dirt is a top notch zine covering things knobby, and I'd read Rouleur over Road, or Velo News everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.
Now I'll probably catch some flack for these comments, but hey, I calls em like I sees em, and when you live in a 40 year old van for 4 monthes in the parking lot of your favorite mag for very little pay, and shower in said parking lot, come on back and we'll chat. Later.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

RIP Eugene Sloane

Along with my old man and Sheldon Brown, I learned the most about bikes from Eugene Sloane and his "Complete Book Of Bicycling." He passed away on Saturday. You can pick up one of the editions of the book from just about any used or new book store. It is jam packed with mechanical insights to the bicycle, along with pretty cool old pictures and drawings.
Oh, and gas stations don't make money on gas? Huh, who saw that coming?
Also, Garbage Warrior was released on DVD today, and it is playing at the Madison Film Fest this weekend.
And finally, it's rare I'd suggest a TV program, but the Frontline last night "Bad Voodoo's War" was excellent.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008