Never to late to post, I hope.

So android market finally got a google app that lets you blog, so I  downloaded it to my evo. Here are some pictures if the boys rollin it in the snow a while back.

Gravel Shortage

The closure of Duke Forest during the weekdays this fall has many of us suffering from a vitamin G deficit. Apparently we're not alone.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day ride with the Professor in pictures.

The Professor's beautiful Circle A:

Major Loves Bikes

Pirate's good buddy and our faithful mascot......Major.

Critical Mass ride begins with moment of silence

As we gathered around Major for the monthly Critical Mass ride through downtown Phillip Baron took a moment to describe the accident on Pleasant Green and to say something brief about bicycling safety and Clive Sweeney's death. We then took time to observe a moment of silence for Clive, his family, and his friends.

With that rather somber beginning, the ride was a little lower-key than usual, though the rather ridiculous temperature might have put a damper on some of our enthusiasm as well. Chris, Dave, and I cruised around Durham with the diverse crew for a leisurely hour or so before adjourning to Bull McCabe's for some post-ride carbing. It was great to see all the people that came by after the ride -- there were probably 15 or so CMers there -- to enjoy a hot, humid night on the patio.

Brian also joined us, though he spent less time talking and more time grooming his euro-mullet. Some kids are just too cool for school.

I would have some pictures, but either Ali, JD, Brian, Erin, or the shop has my camera.

Until next month, keep rubbin' Major's nose!

Rolling the ATT

Unable to leave campus in time for a road ride, on Thursday I mounted up my NiteRider and hit the American Tobacco Trail. This is the perfect time of the year for an ATT ride, and it was an ideal time to roll: I headed out under a setting sun and warm weather, hit the turnaround as darkness descended, then fired up the light and followed the beam back to Durham down an empty trail. It's not a hard ride -- there aren't any real hills, though there are a series of false flats -- but it does provide some decent miles, as well as being a fun tour of southern D-town.



Of course, no ride is complete without a visit to Major, and this one didn't disappoint.











On my way to pick up a burrito I ran into these fools at the Fed. (Note that the blurriness replicates only the camera's settings, not the mental states of either the subjects or the photographer.)



I was only there for a minute, and didn't have anything to eat (or drink!), but in that small amount of time I managed to spill a beer on Geoff's crotch. Sorry, yo!


He doesn't look very happy about it, but then again you can't blame him: nothing's fun with a soggy grundel.

Not exactly a hardcore ride, but fun nonetheless. However, what I'd really like to be doing is ripping it up GL-style. Maybe soon...

Old Skool Bull City

Phillip Barron has a great video up over at his site today. He compiled a number of clips from old 1930s footage of Durham, then spliced it together for a look at biking the the Bull City during the Great Depression. It's definitely worth a watch, and be sure you catch the guy around a minute in pulling the rad wheelie.

Bicycle Art Show in Durham

The esteemed Nicomachus has an exciting announcement over on his site today. He's put together a collection of biking-related photographs from Durham past and present, and will exhibit them at the Upfront Gallery on Foster Street March 7th to 28th.

Here's a copy of the announcement:


There's also a great little tag from the website: "Anyone who rides in the Thursday March 6th Critical Mass is invited to a preview of the show following the ride." What do you say we make it a Bull City Cycling event?

Me and Major

So after joining Brian and Erin at Dain's to watch the Duke-Carolina game, I decided to roll around town to see the post-victory sights. I ended up down town and had a little sit-down with our friend Major.


He's a good bull with a sympathetic ear.

New Wheels, New Tires, Old Legs

So I'd finally trashed the wheels on my tried-and-true commuter, the Redline 9*2*5, meaning that I had to get a new set ASAP: el truckadora doesn't have on-campus privileges, nor can I afford the gas that it takes to sport her around D-town. Low on cash and in need of something quickly, I turned to the wonderful world of eBay.


It was my first eBay experience, and I can see why this could get addicting. Still, I came out with a decent set of hoops -- Formula hubs laced with DT Swiss spokes to Velocity Aerohead rims -- at a decent price. I mounted up some fat new rubber -- Specialized Armadillos -- and hit the road yesterday. Due to a light snafu Ali and I missed the mtb night ride and headed to Duke Forest instead.

The wheels and tires performed beautifully. Granted, the tires barely fit in the fenders, and trash constantly and noisily gets stuck in there, but the SUV-like performance more than makes up for that. Wheels look pretty slick, too: as classic as the old silver-on-silver scheme was, I have to say I like the all-black look of the new wheels better. And the high-flange Formulas are just trick.


The Pirate's performance was less than beautiful. Armed with only my commuter light and trying to keep up with Ali and his mountain bike, the forest wasn't the best place for me. Some of those climbs are of decent length and pretty steep, and I was slogging it up a few at what felt like 12 rpm. Whenever we hit the flat stuff or pavement I was in great shape, but my legs can really feel the slow grinds this morning. I'm hoping that this helps me develop some good off-season strength without destroying my knees, by right now it seems to just make the morning commute all the harder.

We ended the ride with a spin through East Durham and a pass by "Wingz & Thingz" on East Main, where it was surprisingly Ali and not me that wanted to stop and sample the local culinary fare. We managed to make it out of the cholesterol trap (lovely, lovely trap that it smelled to be) alive, but it will be hard to avoid the same after a long summer ride.

All and all a good ride, and I couldn't be happier to have commutadora up and running again. Go eBay, I guess.