CrowMolly

Are you ready?

2011-05-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome

2011-04-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Found on the interwebs

A friend of mine just got on a bike for the first time in years. The occasion was the Filmed by Bike opening night showing and post film Dropout ride/dance/house party. It poured on us but we had a hella good time. What a trooper. Also... bike jerks from Seattle invaded again this year. Great to see so many familiar faces on bicycles.

Image credit goes here.

Interesting POV

2010-04-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

BSNYC vs PDX

More burly than a Surly

2010-01-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Beefy bike found on the interwebs.

here, via likecool.com

Eat your heart out fixie kid!

2009-08-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

World Naked Bike Ride - Portland

2009-06-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

The world naked bike ride, what can I say but, wow! I was not a hundred percent certain I would attend, but at 9:30 last night I wheeled out the door and headed to the industrial area north of downtown Portland. It was a bit chilly and windy out, but I met up with some other riders headed the same direction along the way. We could hear the music from about a quarter mile out and there was no turning back.

On arrival I was struck by the sheer volume of bikes locked up outside. There were people from every walk of life wandering around outside. Some were in costume, some were partially clothed, some were neither. Once inside, the scene was unbelievable. Great beer, live music, and a thousand sweaty dancing bodies to boot. About a half hour before the ride kickoff, the Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers marched through the warehouse and definitely kicked things up another notch (if that were at all possible). That led to the mass exodus to the bikes.

Once I had my bike and "prepped" for the ride, I headed out to the street where I was simply awe struck by the number of people. The cue went on as far as I could see. It was truly inspiring. The ride took off and headed through NW Portland and then down Burnside. The further we went the more the crowds of spectators grew. There were cheers and high fives all around along with the occasional bit of ass slapping. The sound of bicycle bells ringing constantly. We cleared the Burnside bridge out to Sandy and down to the Hawthorn bridge. --Just a thought here, riding a bicycle naked over a steel grated bridge creates a very interesting sensation--. We turned and headed back up toward Old Town where the ride ground down to the naked bike walk (--note: I heard that the rear portion of the pack was cut off from the bridge loop and forced in with the rest which caused the jam up). Once through the jam it was a smooth roll back to the party.

The people were amazing, and not just the cyclists. Props to all the bystanders that decided to make a show of solidarity by losing there clothes while standing on the side of the road cheering. It should also be noted that there was a HUGE amount of appreciation for Portland's finest for blocking traffic at the major intersections. All in all it was an amazing experience which I will definitely repeat.

There is a great write up at Bike Portland (probably NSFW due to the pics).

See you there next year!

I am huge!

2009-05-31T21:12:00.001-07:00

Helmets are good, mmkay?

2009-05-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Interesting folder

2009-05-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Linky

Classy

2009-04-15T05:42:00.001-07:00

Lotus 3000R Update

2009-03-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

I made a couple changes to the Lotus over the past week or so. The big one is that I swapped out the handlebars for the drops that were originally on my Salsa. The 'Short and Shallow' bar is wider and more comfortable than the drop bar from the Lotus. What can I say... I have a wide stance. The width caused an unexpected issue with the brake cable length, so those got swapped out too.

So far: tires, tubes, cables, seat (re-use), handlebars (re-use), clipless pedals, and a seatpost bag for spare and tools. (Not too bad overall)

If I could change one thing that I did on it so far, I would have put tires with reflective sidewalls on it.

I think I am done working on this one for a while. It has been a pretty fun bike puttering around the neighborhood, but now I need to take it out on a longer ride.

Back to the other bikes...

Pi(e) Ride! 3/14

2009-03-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today was quite possibly the best themed ride ever. I ventured out for my first ride picked off the Shift calendar. The Pi(e) Ride in celebration of 3.14 was led by John and attended by Severt, Evan, Jenny, Dave, Angie, Sarah, and myself. It was a bit cold and rainy but warm coffee and good eats more than made up for it.

We started out at the Bipartisan Cafe where the first order of business was a damn fine slice of cherry pie and cup of coffee. Once the group had gathered, we rolled up to Random Order for the next slice, peach berry amaretto with some of the best crust ever.

The next stop was quite a pleasant surprise. County Cork for shepherds pie and a pint of Murphy's Irish Stout. Not the first thing I would have thought of but, hearty, warm, and savory was definitely a plus considering the weather.

The last stop forced me to throw away everything I thought I knew about Key lime pie. I have never been a fan of Key lime, but Half and Half changed that forever. This was not your typical day-glow green gelatin. It was simply amazing.

All in all it was a great ride. I think the crummy weather made the pie taste even better. Thanks John for leading! If you wanted to run a Pi(e)x2 ride on 9/28 to hit some fall flavors (pecan & pumpkin) I would definitely be there!

Rehabing the Xtracycle donor (Lotus 3000M)

2009-03-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

I decided a while ago that I wanted to build an Xtracycle. My plan is to use an old mountain bike that was collecting dust. Having stripped it down to the frame and collected some necessary parts, I just got started on the rebuild. Due to cash flow, the build will be slow, but I will post as I make progress.

One of the issues with the donor bike was the bearings. Both the headset and the bottom bracket had major issues. Trying to be frugal, I opted to keep the threaded fork and just replace the headset. I picked up a Shimano 105 headset from an online seller. Then I learned a bit about headsets. There are two different sizes of bottom race on a 1" fork, 26.4 and 27mm. As it turns out, the one I bought was smaller than my fork. Sooooo, I had the fork turned down to fit the race. Welllll, as it turns out, the the stack height difference between a large sealed bearing and a smaller loose bearing assembly makes a difference as well. Thankfully I live in a town rich with bike shop goodness. Kevin at River City finally set me straight. I have a new Tange headset that spins like a charm and I got to keep the fork (damn that fork).

If I had opted to update to a threadless fork, headset, and stem, I would have only been out a few more bucks and had a much nicer setup. Lesson learned.

That solved, I put it in the stand and filled 'er up with frame saver. (Hindsight: Using frame saver in my basement next to a gas water heater water heater was probably not the best idea...) Let it be known that frame saver is nasty. End of story.

Up next! Bottom bracket problems!

Thoughts from the week

2009-02-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

Trying to replace a 1" threaded headset is bothersome. Should have just gotten a threadless fork, headset, and stem.

Returning merchandise over the internets is also bothersome. If there is any question about compatibility, get it at LBS.

Frame saver is messy.

On the up side, bike projects are moving forward. Pics to follow.

Worst day of the year ride!

2009-02-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the 8th annual Worst Day of the Year Ride in Portland. Other than commuting I haven't done much riding over the last couple months so I needed something to get me going. There could not have been a more perfect venue. I opted for the 18 mile urban loop. Start and finish were at the Lucky Lab brewery (a purveyor of most excellent suds).

The route was diverse, though all through familiar territory. The pace was easy, with three manned stops. As to the weather, it was raining when I left the house, grey at the start, clear at the finish, and warm on the ride home.

With 3000 riders, there was an attempt to prevent large bottlenecks by staggering starting groups every few minutes. That turned out to be all in vain when the drawbridge went up at the first bridge crossing. Epic bicycle traffic jam, Portland style.

Traffic jam

The trophy

Oh yeah, cash poor at the post ride festivities, I asked one of the girls manning the kegs where I could locate an ATM. She thought about it for a second and said, "I remember seeing one at the strip club on the next block".

I love Portland.

Full gallery.

Scotchlite 680

2008-12-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Late addition to the Christmas list. I think totally covering the bike is overkill, but I definitely want to add some of this to my ride.

Bright Bike from Michael Mandiberg on Vimeo.

Bike Rack Rap

2008-12-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

The truth hurts

2008-12-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

via Indexed

Comics

2008-12-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

Just watch

2008-12-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

via EcoVelo

Bike Craft IV (follow up)

2008-12-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Bike Craft was last Wednesday and was nothing short of amazing. The Lucky Lab was packed wall to wall with people and the beer was flowing. Tons of local vendors showing off their goods. A special treat for me was getting to meet the DeJerks in person. All in all, great people, great stuff, great times!

(The work DeJerk!)

(Thanks for sharing your pretzels O-bearded one!)

And to whoever was baking mass quantities of cinnamon bread in southeast Wednesday night, it smelled great!

Fear of a Bike Planet

2008-12-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

Great shirt design over at UrbanVelo.

Great Read

2008-12-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just came across CycleDog. Check it out.

Bike Craft IV

2008-12-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

BikeCraft IV will be December 10, from 5:30pm to close at Roots Organic Brewing at 1520 SE 7th Ave (just south of Hawthorne) in Portland.

Check out the full vendor list!

Should be quite awesome. Really looking forward to seeing the DeJerks there!

via Bike Portland

900 Lumens (when you need more)

2008-12-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

I just came across this 900 lumen uber light. I havn't seen one of these on the road (I would probably be blinded). I think I like it because kinda reminds me of the headlights on the family truckster in Vacation.

Sexy custom light mount at EcoVelo

2008-12-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

via EcoVelo

Portland Cup this weekend

2008-12-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Details at Bike Portland, but here is the schedule:

USGP Kickoff Party
Friday, 11/5: 5-8pm
Hopworks Urban Brewery (2944 SE Powell Blvd.)

USGP Portland Cup Day 1
All day Saturday, 11/6
Portland International Raceway (1940 N Victory Blvd.)

Superstar Cyclocross Seminar
Saturday, 11/6: 7-10 pm
VFW Hall #907 825 SE Mills Ave Portland Oregon(on 9th between Division and Hawthorne)
Entry is $21.00 through Bikereg.com or at the door.

USGP Portland Cup Day 2
All day Saturday, 11/6
Portland International Raceway (1940 N Victory Blvd.)

2008 Cross Crusade Awards Party and Prom
Sunday Dec. 7th (after USGP race at PIR)
Staver Locomotive Building (2537 NW 29th Ave.)

It also just happens to coincide with the Holiday Ale Festival downtown!!!

Bikes at Gizmodo

2008-12-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

Decent bike post at gizmodo today. Check it out here.

I will add an image or two later...

Lotus 3000

2008-11-29T21:47:00.000-08:00

This old steed came from a Sears store around 1991. I was looking for some info online and came up with almost zilch. I got this for my dad and it sat in his garage unridden until recently. I reclaimed it, cleaned it up, added new tires, pedals, and a seat off of one of my other bikes. It is a great bike but I'm not sure if I will keep it or sell it off to fund other bike projects... At any rate, I thought I would share.

Treadmill Bike

2008-11-17T08:06:00.001-08:00

Only $2500 Canadian! Found at Bike Forest. Do NOT miss the treadmill bike 'sweet jumps' video at the end of the article.

OMG, teh uber roxor!!!

2008-11-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry, couldn't resist. If my kid was younger, this would be on the Christmas list for sure!

via SwissMiss

Picnic Table Bike

2008-11-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

If the Waffle Bike is the pinnacle of breakfast bike goodness, this is lunch.

SSCXWC Follow-up

2008-11-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, life happened and I did not make it to the race last weekend. Bike Portland did and they have a great write up. Enjoy!

BikePortland.org

SSCXW08

2008-11-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships are this weekend! Events are on Saturday and Sunday. The race is on Sunday at PIR. I am going to try to make it out for the race (as a spectator). It should be a great time.

SSCXW via Bike Portland

Follow up to the trike post

2008-11-04T23:47:00.001-08:00

oh, the power of the pedal.

Triple the fun?

2008-11-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Not sure why, but there have been a lot of trikes popping up on the radar. I figured I would post a few.

Lunatrike over at Bicycle Design

Mitka Trike at LikeCool

Titanium Tricycle at Gizmodo

Neal Fegan custom from the Manifest Show

...but none come close in cool points to the Vanilla

"...I get kicked in the head a lot but it's worth it."

2008-11-01T19:16:00.001-07:00

Best profile quote ever.

Pole Riders via Bicycle Design

Odd pic

2008-10-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Found this posted on a costume thread.

la Musica

2008-10-29T06:31:00.001-07:00

There are videos on MTV! For real! You may have never seen such a thing, but there was a time.... This one should be on topic enough for the blog:

Be Your Own Pet |MTV Music

and yes, I had a crush on Martha Quinn.

Ridley (motorized)

2008-10-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

120 MPG, 33 MPH.... I could do the STP on this bad boy (would kinda be cheating though)!

Ridley Motorcycle via Uncrate

The 108

2008-10-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Sexy bike.

I think the finishing touch would be a cocktail shaker mounted to the water bottle bosses.

Check out more pics at Dutch Bikes.

"350"

2008-10-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

via: Cool Hunting

Oops!

2008-10-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

In response to an article about cyclist's being banned from a park and ride, the following was posted on fark.com.

Pocket Ninja: Look. When people don't use oil by choosing to walk or cycle, the demand for oil drops. When the demand for oil drops, so does its value. When the value of oil drops, tensions in the oil-producing countries--most noticeably in the area of the Middle East--rise. When tensions in the Middle East rise, wars start. When wars start in the Middle East, America become involved. When America becomes involved in Middle Eastern wars, colossal screw-ups happen and angry young men Middle Eastern men become radicalized. When angry young Middle Eastern men become radicalized by American screw-ups, they start turning to leaders like Osama bin Laden for inspiration. When they turn to Osama bin Laden for inspiration, 9-11 happens.

Nobody should be taking the side of these cyclists and walkers. The bastards caused 9-11.

Prevention is key. Off to the Hummer dealer!

Waffle Bike

2008-10-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

We were talking about waffles this morning and I promised Joyce I would send her the link to the Waffle Bike. Check out the video over at sweetbike. Mmmmmm waffles!

Run Like Hell

2008-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

My wife and a friend ran the 5k in the Portland Run Like Hell this morning. Running is not my cup of tea, but beer and hot wings at 8am sounded like a winner. Julie, Joyce, Josh and I biked down to Pioneer Courthouse Square bright and early this morning for the run. It was COLD out!!! After the run it was off to Doug Fir for real breakfast with hot coffee and Bloody Mary's (a Halloween themed drink if ever there was one). Nice ride, great costumes, lots of fun.
The gallery is here.

XtraLove

2008-10-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

I saw this pic over at one of my favorite blogs, Copenhagen Cycle Chic. The photo is by Derek Pearson who does some pretty fancy stuff with a camera. The subject matter had me thinking I should introduce a project of my own. I have a very slowly progressing xtracycle. I have an older Lotus (1990) mountain bike that I am converting. It will not likely be as hot as the chopper in the pic, but it should be fun. So far I have stripped all its parts and hinted heavily that a free radical is all I want for Christmas. I will post pics and updates as it progresses. For now, enjoy the links.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic
Xtracycle

The Work DeJerk

2008-10-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

The header image at the top of my page of the flying sprokette is the work of local artist Tiago DeJerk. He does some truly amazing stuff and has graciously allowed the use of his images here (thanks Drica!!). The first I saw of his work were the commissions hanging over at Cyclepath. A good portion of his paintings are bike related, but he has a pretty wild variety of other work as well. Check out the DeJerk website here, or better yet check out the works in person at Vino Vixens until January 1st, or Muddy's Cafe all during November.

www.dejerk.com

Updated: Manifest Show Weekend

2008-10-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Update: Pics from the show posted here.

All in all, a spectacular weekend alternating between biking, drinking, and eating (all the PDX staples). Scott, Kav, and Ashley from Seattle, Kat from Eugene, and Anna from here in Portland made for a full house. I could not have asked for a better group to ride with.

Scott posted some great pics over at sweetbike.org. I am playing around with SmugMug. Once I get the account set up I will post the gallery of pics I shot at the show.

Special props to Dean for showing us a great time Saturday night.

We need to do this again sooner rather than later.

Oregon Manifest Bike Show

2008-10-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Manifest Bike Show is this weekend (Oct 10-12). I will be heading over with a group coming down from Seattle. Should be a great time.

http://www.oregonmanifest.com/

I blame Scott.

2008-10-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

I used to ride a lot. I even used to work doing bike assembly. That was well over a decade ago. Last February I went up to see a great friend in Seattle. He had been doing a lot of biking and mentioned that a group he rides with did a weekly Slow Sunday ride. The hotel I was staying at had loaner bikes, so I went along. Note: Riding a poorly maintained hotel loaner bike 30 miles in Seattle after not cycling for 16 years is not generally recommended. It fucking hurts! But... I had a smile on my face the entire way. I was still smiling (though unable to walk) the next day. I missed being on a bike. Here is Scott's post on the ride.
Since that ride I have invested in a new bike and have been playing around with bits and pieces to make it my own. I ride as much as I can, usually with my son in tow on a ride along. This will be my outlet for all stuff bikey and otherwise. Enjoy.

First post. Evar.

2008-10-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

We will see where it goes from here.