frustrating months

to all who have faithfully followed my blog...
in october my car was broken into and all of my Arkel Bags and all the camping equipment in them were stolen. I have been depressed about it but surviving. I took a bit of time from being excited about cycling and I have to admit I may have been a bit bitter. I have however been riding... a lot. For the past two months I have been commuting almost exclusively by bike and bus to work. I have been keeping myself involved with the cycling community by riding and by equiping myself for some serious advocacy or, for better words, activism. I am starting to charge myself politically for the cycling community and me and my street fixed bike are going to start making some noise for cycling. you will find more info here on some important issues involving the cycle commuting community, and on other aspects of riding a fucking bike. anywho.... im back and im charged... late.

Gods Pedal Power

My friend Mike gave me my Gitane frame to build up my fixie. Mike also happens to run Gods Pedal Power Ministry. If you work at a shop in Tampa you have probobly met Mike. He collects parts and bikes donated by our customers and those of other area shops and uses them to build bikes for those in need. These pictures were taken on his home property where he stores hundreds of bikes and parts as well as a few old trucks.. and a couple other shots were taken on location at GPPM at University Baptist Church in Tampa. For more info about GPPM visit www.godspedalpower.org.

This is Mike... say hello!

My New Timbuk2

Got me a new messenger bag this week and I love the freakin thing. Its a Timbuk2 Classic Messenger bag in a size medium... in some pretty earthy green colors. I was used to carrying a backpack with me when i commuted on my fixie to work or when I took the bus. Its much better than the backpack while riding because i can get into it without getting hurt... and its easier to throw stuff in with out worry of where its going. its very easy to file stuff away as there is a ton of little pockets for things like my camera, my cell phone, and my wallet and such. one of the best things... this thing can carry a sixer of some sweet Red Hook with plenty of room for more shit. more info at www.timbuk2.com

Tricksisis

Alan Snail posted me on his blog fer doin some tricks on me bike... www.Alansnel.com no im not the old guy towing his wife in the scooter... scroll down a bit.

St. Pete Alley Cat

This weekend was the When Bikes Attack Alley Cat in St. Pete... I would have gotten more pics but i stole these from Bryan Quinn as it is. I was too busy racing around the streets of St. Pete, doing skids, riding backwards, and drinking beer to think about taking pictures... it was a good time. Christina and the babies came out as well. The race covered several blocks near down town including the Pier and was an all out scramble from begining to end, racing from one point to the next using any means and route necessary to get there. It seemed like utter chaos, you did not know where you were headed from the next point untill you got there and they gave you a new map. It was my first Alley cat race but it certainly will not be my last. The riding and comraderie remind me of my days sessioning the very same streets as a skater years ago. Combining bikes with beer and music... refreshing.

These are my loyal customers... these guys visit my shop on a regular basis and Ive adopted them as the Carollwood crew. ha. This wednesday night we will be "sessioning" if you will, out behind the shop... doing tricks, skids, hangin out and doing what i love most... drinking beer.

i built a wheel for tony

This is tony, with his new wheel


this is the wheel on the floor

Alley Cat this weekend

Ill be there on my fixie..

www.66fixed.com

Swiss Army Courier Bike

Dont know much about this bike but we determined it to be a Swiss Army bike from the 40's... pretty cool.

Bicycle Bash

Sunday November 4th 11am - 4pm at Vinoy Park In Downtown St. Pete.

Thats the event... the cool part is Alan Snel asked me to do a bike camping demo... so I will be out there with the Long Haul Trucker and all the gear.. I will try to have some pictures and maybe actually make lunch while I am out there. Ha... good times. Anywho... if you come out please be sure to stop by and say hello.

http://www.bicyclebash.com/

CBE Urban Assault!!!

URBAN
–adjective 1. of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town.
ASSAULT
–noun 1. a sudden, violent attack; onslaught: an assault on tradition.

that about sums that up... Friday, October the 12th.. 7pm at Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium in Tampa(http://www.cbebikes.com/) or 8pm at the Walgreens at Hyde Park and Platt downtown Tampa. Bring your mountain bike and shin pads. crazy fun ride... come to watch the crazies.

Fixie Frenzy

All the guys here at the shop have decided to build up fixie bikes. If your not in the in a fixie is a one speed bike with no freewheeling mechanism. basically you cant stop peddaling and you slow down by applying pressure to the backside of the pedal stroke. Street fixies, or track bikes have been big in the messenger scenes in New York City and other big metro areas, but now its really starting to take of as its own sub-culture here in the St Pete and Tampa area. I built one myself out of an old Gitane steel road frame and have been riding it to work every day. Its a killer work out and a hell of a lot of fun.
Bullets Pista.. he cheated... he bought one off the shelf.
Allans baby blue... bike... thing...

My Gitane... 120 miles this week... my shins hurt. That saddle is an old Brooks from the 60s or 70s... i havent had it dated yet. this whole bike cost me less than 50$. The frame was given to me, and other parts were borrowed from other projects.

One of our customers, Renae posing with her pink bike... and some dork. oh and Joe is over there too.

Allan doing a trackstand.. dude can lay down a skid about 7 car lengths... Redickerous.

We will be leading some 66 rides around the Tampa area. It will be posted on the CBE website, my Blogger here and im going to talk to mike at 66fixed about getting some advertising for the shop rides.

Karate Monkey for sale

Manny is off the MTbike for... a while so his cankle can heal after he broke it while drinking too much and jumping on the trampoline(true story.. honest).... so his shit stain Karate Monkey is for sale.... $750 or a good offer and some beer will take her home....... hit me up with an email or stop by Carrollwood Bicycle Emporium in Tampa. 14405 N. Dale Mabry. We also have a Long Haul Trucker in stock, as well as a Cross Check and a Steamroller. :)

shes a 22" with the parts spec of a redline Flight Monocog... the rear wheel has been outfitted with a vbrake and has a salsa delgado rim with a surly flip flop free wheel hub.

It does have a small ding in the top tube but other than that shes in great shape.

Florida the Beautiful

Labor Day weekend Caleb, My brother Chris, and I went on a bit of trip around Central Florida. We departed from the Polk City Trail Head on the James A. Van Fleet Trail. We rode the Van Fleet Trail up to State Road 50 and headed West to Join up with the Withlacoochee State Trail. We rode the Withlacoochee up into Inverness where we Camped for the first night. From Inverness we decided to take 41 south through Brooksville in favor of heading back down the Withlacooshee trail. We took 41 to the Suncoast Trail and headed back towards Hillsborough county. We spent the second night at Starkey Park off the Suncoast. We continued south to SR 54 and visited the new Suncoast Trailside Bicycles right off of the trail, former CBE employee and my friend, Geoff happens to be the owner. Its a neat little shop. We continued down 54 and met up with the Pinellas Trail in Tarpon Springs. We Finally made our way into Seminole where we finished off 200 miles of riding in 3 days.
Van Fleet Trail My Bro And Caleb on the Van Fleet
There we lots of neat little spots to get off the bike and explore. It was crucial to keeping Caleb entertained. Its not easy riding 200 miles with a 5 year old... but what most people dont realize is that it is possible.

Chariot trailer I borrowed from the shop.. this thing was a crucial element in our trip. I would definately recomend this trailer to anyone.
A neat old house off of SR50
It rained for about two hours on the first day... I really need to get better rain gear, though my panniers stayed nice and dry.
Caleb helping my bro fix the first flat of the trip
There were more people.. maybe somebody moved?
ha.
Withlacoochee State Trail bridge over SR 50
This was a little trail we found forking off of the Withlacoochee Trail. We took a bit of an off road ride down to a beautiful view of the Withlacoochee River. It seemed like a great place to camp but it was stil very early in the day.


Beautful... pictures just dont do it justice.








The General Store in Istachatta, with my Surly Long Haul Trucker parked out front.. too bad it wasnt open.. i wanted a t-shirt.

We had some trouble with camping the first night. At first we found a good spot that seemed discreet enough, however the park ranger who wrote us a good warning didnt think so. We had to tear down camp in the dark and search for another spot, luckily the Sheriff in Inverness was more than happy to divulge a secret camp spot that he and his son had used in the past... it was late and it was really dark but the spot was just feet fromt he trail.



The Inverness CourthouseInverness had a lot of neat things like this.
and this.

We went through Brooksville and if you've ever driven through there you know that the hills are pretty steep. With 40lbs of gear on the bike and over 100lbs in the trailer, including a moving 5 year old, those climbs were a bit chalenging coming through on 41. I did not miss a climb though... if youve never ridden through Brooksville you should give it a try... then you will understand why I have no pictures of it.

We almost went in. We stopped at a park off of 41, name escapes me right now and we heard a little kid screaming that he caught a gator. sure enough here it is. good timing :)

finally on the Suncoast Trail we stayed our second night at one of the equestrian campsites at Starkey Park. It was really hot and it rained all night long.. but we had a really nice cooked meal. beanie weenies. ha. We couldnt find a glass cover for this so we let him go... phesants are bigger than I had ever imagined and they move like a dinosaur.. a neat little creature, and he didnt fly either... just ran away from us as we chased him, forks in hand.

Wishful thinking.. we still had half a day to go.

My brother.. being.. himself.

Suncoast headed Home. This was a delightful find on the Pinellas Trail in Tarpon Springs. A Primate sanctuary.. for a minute there I thought my brother had gotten in but then i realized he was still just out of sight of the camera.

More trips to come.. its hard to plan for a trip like this but I am learning more with every trip.. if you have any interest in going with us next time please email me and ill try to accomodate. I dont have any idea what to do for the next one yet but im keeping it in the back of my mind.