two pennies for a...: Fixed life.

Saturday was host to a sort of fixed gear circle jerk known as March Madness. It was put on by my friend Jason and some of his friends/roommates. It was a trackstanding, sprinting, and skidding (worst stopper) competition. Mostly it was just a place for people to all meet up and do the thing they love to do. I am not really a competitive person, nor do I like to "show off" my skills (or lack thereof), so I treated it like a party more than anything. It was awesome to just joke around and have a good time. I really liked how down to earth and fun this event was. Everyone was just there to have a good time. No one talked smack, no one was intimidating or sized anyone up. It was really welcoming. This was the first time that my friends and I wore our "crew" hats, which we made last summer as a sort of joke. Originally, they were a silly jab at fixed gear hipsters and their mutated cycling cap style involving baseball caps with turned up brims. Now I just like to think of them as ridiculously awesome.

They even have glow-in-the-dark paint around the cogs and lettering. The best part is that not only do we have a crew named "Crew" with a font logo of DIY-style lettering on top of a cog stencil, we also have a "symbol" that is fluorescent orange. It is essentially two circles with a triangle in between them in the style of the triangle that is formed by the top-tube, seat-tube and down-tube on a bicycle frame. As you can tell from the photo above, things got pretty silly. There was a good ten-minute photo session of trying to look ridiculous and hardcore. Here are some of the gems:

And, just in case you were wondering, a good time was indeed had by all. In fact, the photo below serves as proof to this, as much as it also proves that some of us did indeed wear helmets!

It was also the place that I unveiled my new "whip" to all who were there to see. Anyone who knows me knows well that I am not a "ballin'" person. Having really nice things makes me feel uncomfortable. If took me practically a million years to get an iPod, and it was only after I saw how practical they were for treeplanters and people who travel and love music. And, well, once I had an iPod and Mac software, and then started to see Mac OS's and how well they work and my computer started to die... well, it was only logical to get a Mac. And... well, yeah I have a cellphone, but it's not an iPhone or a razor or a krazor or anything like that. Anyway. I like to think I am practical. I like good quality things that will last me forever. If I had the money, I would totally be one of those yuppies with all sorts of outerwear and technical fabrics. I love technical layering. I think it's because I cycle through the winter and tree-planted. Tree-planting made me appreciate dry warmth in only a few layers that I could take on and off throughout the day with the weather, and cycling made me appreciate the compact ness of the layers. A wool sweater, hoodie, and jacket provide nice layered warmth, but they make you look like a damn marshmallow!

So, in that sense, having a nice, sturdy bike is a practical thing. In the past I have been all about "whatever works" in terms of cheapness and quality. However, I was lucky enough to have a KHS track frame practically fall into my lap for $40 bucks cash and a dinner date. Sweet! How could I say no?! After the hell I put my first fixie through with working as a messenger bike full-time, being my sole source of transportation, and riding through the shittiest winter days, I figured it was time for a frame that was less tired. Plus, it's great to have a spare bike to ride on balmy days, and also to have a spare bike for friends to ride, and also to have something to put on the road while I overhaul my first bike. I was also lucky enough to have gone into Phat Moose Cycles on the right day. Kent had built a set of 48 spoke wheels with Velocity Deep V's around a set of Steelwool hubs that had been ridden for a few miles and were being resold at $250 for the set. When it was going to cost me around $180 for a Velocity Deep V around a Miche hub... and then find another front wheel in the garbage somewhere, how could I say no to a set?! So, I have a practically brand new set of amazing wheels... with radial lacing in the front. 48-spoke radial. All I needed to do to the frame was repack and re-grease the headset. I had a pair of Nitto track drops given to me for Valentine's day by a special someone, which fit beautifully on the frame. That special someone was also nice enough to lend me his Miche Advanced track crank, with a beautiful, buttery Italian bottom bracket. I am saving up to buy it from him or get another cheaper crank, as it is much to nice of a piece of art to just have given to me, so, it is on loan to me indefinitely. And, I must say, it is the most beautiful piece of equipment I have ever ridden upon. I finally understand the difference between "whatever works" and "high class rollin'." This is what makes me want to buy the crank in installments rather than give it up one day. Of course, the bike still has a bit of my character added to it- an "I like to ride on top" sticker, and hideous yellow bar tape. Okay, the yellow bar tape was what I had laying around in my drawer. Originally it was so offensive and hideous to me (beautiful bars like that should not be wrapped fully like that, especially with matching-but-not-quite-exactly-to-the-frame-coloured tape). However, now I think it just adds a bit of humour, to go along with the silly sticker and mad spoke cards (which I will definitely take out soon, once I've rolled with them for awhile). You must be curious, after all this textual-oogling I've done, what my bicycle (who is yet to be named, but is definitely female) looks like. Here she is in all her against-a-tree-photo-shoot glory: