191: Some Art and Leg Hair.

I almost forgot, this past weekend I attended an art show. Well, a couple of them actually. But the one that I am psyched about at this moment involves Matt Hall. For one because his drawings are out of control awesome. For two because he shreds on many forms of bicycle. For three because his wife Saska is doing leg waxing for cyclists (see painfully below.) And for fourth because Matt drew the intro to No Secrets in Spandex a Cycling Romance Novel that I printed the first two chapters of in Embrocation Vol5.

All of the drawings seemed to have the theme of "couches" (this is different than coaches- but that would be interesting as well). Or at the very least all of the models in the drawings are seated. Molly Cameron and Brian Ellin are in the one above. I tried to get them to pose in a similar fashion in front of their drawings, but there just was not the light necessary to do justice to the whole set up.

Matt's drawings will be on display at Ristretto Coffee Roasters (the one on Williams) and hopefully they will be displayed for a while because they look great in the space. Aside from the celebrity appearance of MC in the drawings there is also one of famed local bicycle builder Ira Ryan and a separate one of his girlfriend Rachel on display. Did I mention that Matt is one of the racers that Ira Sponsors? Lots of love going on with that crew.

Nice Kneewarmers

Speaking of love I stole this photo off of Matt's Facebook page. You really need to dip into the Love Bucket to do something like this for your wife. Saska is going to esthetician school and needed a model of sorts. Apparently she will also put you through this pain for a mere $50 (that's a deal cyclists.) I'm thinking of giving it a try.

You know - research. How long does the hair stay away? How much does it hurt? How much better looking will my legs be? She also said that for an extra fee she could do a BROzillian. PROzillian is more like it. Ow.

I don't even know how to follow that up. Or transition it into something else? So, I'll just put some of these little dashed lines and that will symbolize the transition.

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Backyard Blam.

Amanda's event went off with a, well, with a Blam if you will. And you will. I must admit that I am a little out of my element when it comes to these events. I do not know any tricks, especially ones that have to do with bicycles. I just get on them and ride for miles and miles. That's my trick.

I once got a Bianchi D.I.S.S. when I worked at the shop in Milwaukee. I saved up for that friggin thing and let me tell you it was awesome. Murdered out to the max. Every piece on it was black. Matte black frame, black hubs, seriously the thing was sick. And I rode it every day, down by the river through the homeless camps, to work, even in the W.O.R.S. series races (getting stomped by the J. Lalonde). But when I got that bike I told myself that I was going to learn how to wheelie.


I tried every single day of the summer. Every day that I was not working I would just ride around in the park near my apartment and try to wheelie. I tried lowering my saddle like the flatlanders. I tried just working on just balance. That didn't work either. (However on a side note I did see a car crash happen because of a woman tanning in a skimpy bikini. But that was the only thing to come of all the practice.) Then I resigned myself to the fact that I would never be good at the bike tricks.


Now, you might be thinking that I'm going to bring it all full circle here. Connect the loop on how I feel ostracized from the herd because I show up at these things and do not fit in because I cannot wheelie. How I wish that maybe this crowd would accept me for my MaxVO2 alone?

Nope, not really.

The event was great. It was swell to see people come out all in the name of the bike. The Clockwork Orange Sprints room was pretty cool too. NEMO did a great job of utilizing their venue and Amanda's enthusiasm alone could put a congregation of bike worship straight to their knees. Which is kind of what she did. Thumbs up. Way up.

Check out the Backyard Blam site for some actual great photos. And I am smiling in that photo.

183: A Few Things

Just going to jump right into this one.

1) Chris Milliman's photos are showing at Bloc 11 Cafe in Sommerville. Go see this, if you are into that sort of thing. Here are a few shots from the show, but it looks to be a doozy. In a good way. I incorrectly guessed some of the style of photographs and was quickly and justly corrected by Mr. Milliman himself.

"No, dude, those are original 4x5 Polaroids, shot with a Speedgraphic press camera and Pola back. One of a kind originals! One-of-one. There's even a selection of 5 CX 4x5 Polaroids I shot in belgium, they're in the back hall...they're f-in dope."


I guess that is more than you can hope for in an artists statment. Intrigue, exclusivity, and even a bit of technology. Head over to check out his photos as they will be up for the remainder of January and the whole month of February. Maybe get a coffee while you are there. If you really want to plan in advance you can follow them on Twitter where they put up their lunch specials daily.

Only, before you go, be aware that I believe (since I haven't actually seen the show yet) that these photos are a selection of Chris' travel photography. While there may be an odd cycling photo or two, the focus of the show is really more about travel.

2) Mo Bruno-Roy Ultimate Super Raffle Extravaganza (January 13 — March 01)


Mo is going to the World Championships. She and Matt are headed over there right now. Here is the only shot that I got of her racing when she was at the USGP here in Portland. Now, the thing is, Matt and Mo (which together make up MM Racing) have to foot the bill for this trip themselves. I know, great deal huh? "You made the Worlds Team, now here's you're bill." To make up some of said bill they have put together a sweet little raffle that includes a custom Seven Cycles frame. Not too shabby. Check it out here in BikeReg.

While you are at it though, do not feel too bad for all that money that USA Cycling could have put towards their worlds selections, because it was instead diverted to their CX Juniors program...hmm. Rad Racing anyone?

3)

4) Washingmachinepost in general.

brian just did a nice little interview with Dan Sharp over on the site. But while you are there you might do well to check out a few of the other things that he has going on. Things like..oh, I don't know A FREAKING CIELO bicycle turned up at his door for him to check out. Not a big deal, just another day at the office. But, speaking of Cielo I was so lucky as to get inside and take a sneak peak at these good looking bikes the other day. Check that out here.

5) The Rapha Continental Rides: Blue Mound

photo: Daniel Wakefield Pasley

The rides that we did this summer are going up in full now. We posted just a little snip earlier this summer (or we tried to) and now the full ride is going up. There is a little write up each week as well as a photo story to accompany. The photos have been pretty damn spectacular, as we didn't get to see them as they happened.

The first photo in the series there kind of cracks me up because it looks like Piers is actually half choking on something. But the truth of the matter is that he is probably doing a pretty good job of cracking everyone else at the table up. Those brits and their sense of humor.

Ok, that is all for now. Now go find something else cool on the internet. Or, help a teen you know unlock the Secrets of The Teen Ninja Mystery.