I feel so...validated?

Unbeknownst to me, Bike Snob NYC declared my forearm crank tattoo to be "really excellent," although of dubious "toughness."


I'm glad that Bike Snob was able to take the time to count the teeth on my chainrings, something I haven't bothered to do myself. For the record, it's a touring setup- 36 teeth to get up the hill slow & easy, and 54 teeth to scream down the hills...

Thanks go out to Rob for giving me the heads up! Initially I was aquiver with fear & loathing to hear that I had made it onto Bike Snob. Luckily, though, he wasn't ripping me for a lame attempt at appearing tough...

As for "toughness," try randonneuring.
Boston-Montreal-Boston? Paris-Brest-Paris? London-Edinburgh-London?
Twelve hundred kilometers in less than ninety hours?
Now that's tough.

Need More Cowbell?

Coming soon from Park Tools,
courtesy of The Bike Doctor:




The Park CB1.
Available only at an alley cat near you!

More Alley Cat Pix

Kevin posted some pix on his Picassa site...definitely worth checking out!

Diagnosis- Success!

Over twenty people showed up for "The Bike Doctor's First Grandannual Lock U Up Alley Cat Classic," and raised enough money for 6 decent bike locks!

While I set up the course & checkpoints, Kurtz helped out with the start of the race by suggesting & directing a "Danger Start:" bikes were left at the top of the school stairs, and then there was a mass sprint to, up and down the stairs, bikes in hand.







I ran my checkpoint at "the Wall," where the Norfolk Catholic Worker serves breakfast three mornings a week, and the Bike Doctor repairs bikes one morning each week. I brought along my repair stand, and had folks sketch "the Bike Doctor's secret tool."



And no surprise, Chris Dinsmore was on the winning team...


Mike Park, who was on the second-place team, was wearing his GPS & posted our course online.


View Larger Map

Thanks again to everyone who made this event a success! I've got a couple of other alley cats in mind, including a urban cyclocross (cyclo-kitty!) and another food drive (hungry kitty!). Maybe we'll get another one going next month!

Wes

We're gonna lock U up!

So this past week while I've been riding around Norfolk, I've run into a few friends who've said,
"I just can't afford ten bucks for the entry fee!"

So for the record, let me explain a "free will" entry fee: it means pay what you can. If you can afford ten bucks, great! If you can only afford five bucks, that's great, too! And if you've only got a buck or two, then that will help out, too.

See, for about five years now I've been fixing up bikes and giving them away to folks who don't have any other transportation. I've got more time than cash though, and I just can't afford to give away a lock for each bike. Which means that someone's new beach cruiser gets ripped off before payday...

Then there's the fact that a $5 bike chain ain't worth five bucks...An industrious bike thief with a set of bolt cutters and a pickup truck can snap a chain and toss the bike in the back of the truck in thirty seconds flat. So the locks that most of my bike recipients can afford ain't worth it!

That's why Mike Shipp at East Coast Bikes is hooking me up with a deal on some decent U Locks. He's agreed to sell them to me at cost, $20 a piece.

Pay what you can, and come out this Saturday for some fun!

The Bike Doctor's First Grandannual Lock U Up Alley Cat Classic

Listen up, Boys & Girls-
Alley Cat, next Saturday afternoon!


Race starts at 3:30pm
Meet at the steps of Blair Middle School on Colley Avenue.

Free Will entry fee-
Pay what you can, but $10 suggested.

Race Proceeds will be used to purchase U Locks for the Working Poor.

Activity Checkpoints will include changing a tube.
(Changing tubes is not mandatory, but there will be a time penalty for skipping it.)

Special Huffy Class!

Prizes awarded for top finishers!

What Santa Didn't Bring for Christmas

Every bike shop should have one of these in the back:

I guess I'll have to wait for my birthday, since Santa didn't bring it for Christmas...