Nu CRC chit at the Cykel Garage

here's the new "girl" shirt. American Apparel, etc. Going fast!

New BROWN CRC/Chrome Metropolis Bag: (picture soon)

New NAVY CRC Hoodies & Long Sleeve T-shirt: (picture soon)

The All British Cycling Event and Gentleman's Tour

This "Cycle Jumble" should be on everyone's calendar, if not for it's own merits then because it is held at Barley John's Brewpub! As the flyer states, "Experience cycling before lycra or lawyers!" and be sure to check out the "Gravity Race and Pastry Joust." Oh, those cheeky Brits...

R.I.C.E. and the Dakota 5-0

Here it is, the cankle. So I'm finishing my final night lap, it's just before sunrise–a dull twilight is coming over the sky and I'm exiting "The Hideaway" at Afton, so I know I'm home free, with just "Larry's Revenge" to get thru and then a cold PBR will be awaiting me at the finish line. It's been a humid night and the trails are kind of greasy. Traversing an off-camber single track across the side of the hill. Back wheel washes out. I get thrown onto my back, land on my camelback, facing downhill, but my right foot did not unclip from the pedal. Hyperflexion of the ankle and it's a slow roll back to the start/finish. My race is over. Kelly Mac stepped up and rode my remaining 3 laps. Team Red Polka Dot Dress filed a protest with the UCI, but Dr. Fuentes said fuck 'em. We got 25 laps, they got 23. Suckers... But the real sucker will be me, if I am unable to ride the Dakota 5-0 this Sunday. A whole years worth of "training" down the drain. Not real happy about that. Let's hear it for Universal Health Care. If only I were still in Sweden...

As seen in Sødermalm, Stockholm Sweden.

STOCKHOLM! 24 hours of AFTON! PAINKILLER!

Good Lord. Sweden is Utopia. When can I move? Anyway, until I sort my head, recover from Jet-lag, and recover from this weekend's 24 Hours of Afton, I'll leave you with this beauty of a quote from Tim Krabbe's book, "The Rider." "Shifting is kind of a painkiller, and therefore the same as giving up."

p.s. we got sweet nü BROWN Chrome CRC messenger bags in. Check it out.

Electric Prunes-Stockholm

This is it, the bike that is going to Stockholm tonight with me, for the 2006 Single Speed World Championship. It's the 1993 Bridgestone XO-1 w/S&S couplers (and technically a Petaluma Salsa front end, as the original front triangle was replaced sometime in 2000 by Dana Butzow at Dog House). This is the bike that keeps on giving. You may remember it from such CRC hits as Holiday In Cambodia: 9 Single Speed Weeks in Southeast Asia (see CRC #13) It's been raced across the Dakotas, seen much dirt and tarmac action, and just won't quit.
Plus, it fits in this suitcase.

How cool is that? Pretty F'n cool, don't you think?

I'll be long gone to Stockholm Tuesday (15-Aug) to Tuesday (22-Aug). No laptop this trip, so updates might be sporadic. But I've got a new camera, so will hopefully post some photogs upon my return. Kelly Mac, Kevin Bacon, B-Rose, and Eddie Gripgen will be holding it down at CRC. Drop in and say hello. In fact, drop in this Saturday, (19-Aug) and join in on the SOUND UNSEEN FREERIDE It's a bike crooze, starting from CRC at 4pm, with stops at all the local hotspots. Register for FREE BEER (no shit) at the above website.

Lastly, speaking of Stockholm, O.G. Surly Slug B-Lee Evans sends this bit:

From your friends at BOMP……

"ELECTRIC PRUNES - Stockholm 67 -finds the Electric Prunes at the height of the powers. Some ninnies have griped that the 'Prunes were nothing more than a psychedelic one-hit wonder, and a studio project at best. This performance burns the criticism to the ground. Over-amplified and fuzzed to the max, the 'Prunes here are explosive, noisy and wild. This recording proves that the Electric Prunes deserve to be ranked alongside the very best bands of their era."

PS. the Stockholm Shirts have arrived and are pretty sweet! If there are any left over after the trip, they'll be available at the Cykel Garage.

Good Times, Great Oldies

After the sad passing of my Mother, the very next day I had the great joy of seeing my friend and mentor, Loren Morlock, for the first time since his terrible bike accident in Boulder on April 21. He looked amazing and it was such a 180° of emotion. Thank you Loren & Jennifer for dropping by the house.

Got a few good rides in while I was back in ND, including out in Medora with my brother Paul, and brother-in-law Roger. It was 106° this day and we rode the 38 mile loop on the road through Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

My nephew Breck pulled this old Schwinn pixie sting-ray from a neighbor's trash pile (atta-boy!) and I helped him rebuild the chunky coaster brake. He said he just wants to have it around to look at. I told him to just "run what ya' brung..."

Live Tour coverage tomorrow at CRC

I want to thank all of my friends, colleagues, and customers for all the kindness, encouragement and support in the last month and the last year, for that matter. It has been a long, tumultuous, often sad year. My Mother passed away Monday, July 10.

But Mom loved adventure, and I do too. So come down to CRC and watch the tour. Another Alps stage tomorrow. It ain't over yet.

thank you.

-Tommy

Does your Saturday morning barista look this good?

No, I didn't think so...

FOR SALE THIS WEEK AT THE CRC CYKEL GARAGE:
Hot Rod Raleigh SuperCourse. Reynolds 531 frame & fork. New wheels, tires, tape, etc. 47 x 19. Smooth $375

BLOOZE EXPLOSION: Schwinn Super LeTour 12.2 Japanese-made 4130 Cr-Mo. New wheels, tires, etc. Not shown but will include a front brake. 42 x 16. Get movin' $350

Roll one on these Dura Ace/Campy Omega tubulars. Front tire is punctured, but the hubs are butter and the rims are straight. Don't delay, $100.

NATIONAL DAY OF SLAYER! (666-Pack)

I'll be at the shop in the a.m. to meet the delivery guy, but after that, it's gone-daddy-gone, Hurl's gone. I mean, come on; 6/6/6 happens ONCE a millennium. The loose "plan" is to ride 66 miles and then drink a 6-pack.
BIKE HESSIANS UNITE!

CRC to QBP part deux-RESULTS ARE IN!

The CRC-to-QBP Time Trial, version Deuce, is about to go off. Stay tuned for updates. So far, only 3 riders (including Zitox) have arrived. Slackers...
Where's Ray?!?!?



UPDATE: 6 or 7 (?) riders are off. But no Meiser, Brauer, or Blake, so we will have a new champeen this time around. Stay tuned...

FINAL RESULTS:
Erick Kyllonen-- 36:19:53
Chris Anderson-- 40:11:94 (fixed)
Zito-- 40:37:46 (fixed)
Luby-- 46:28:06 (single,well, two spd)
Chef Dog-- 47:00:05 (single)
Eric "Rolling Thunder" Sovern-- 47:33:47
Dr. Kate-- 1:05:08 (single)

I do drive truck...

I FINALLY got some rides in this weekend, just in time for the 90°+ degree days. Sunday I closed the shop early as there was a dearth of action in this town. Coleman & I got out for nearly 3 hours. Started from the shop, headed south on Bryant. In the distance I saw a large inflatable castle –one of those Moonwalk things for kids– in someone's yard. Could it be? Yes, it could . Bootsy Collins holding a 4th birthday party for his boy William Thomas. He offered cold PBR's; how could we resist? A great way to start a ride! Beers slammed, bid the Collins' adieu, we rode down the Parkway, over to St. P on the Lilydale/Hwy 13 route (saw Jim from The Modern Cafe), back up the River Road on StP-side, over Lake Street Bridge, back down River Road Mpls-side, to the backyard tavern at 42nd & Wentworth. It was hot, but I surprisingly didn't bonk. Nice.

Monday, another hotter than hell forecast. Brauer was a no-show (Bleriot?) so the Wrexican and I rode out to Watertown on the Luce Line trail. This was a shakedown ride on the "new" Osell touring rig, which I will be riding to Bismarck for my 20th High School reunion at the end of June. It took me nearly 4 hours to get the brakes dialed in on Sunday night, trying 3 different pair of cantilevers before finally getting the old school XT M-732 cantis to work. It had a lot to do with the angle of the brake cable exiting the levers, and the fact that this old bike (1989) only has one spring hole for the brakes rather than the more common 3-hole. The newer XT cantis that came on the bike just didn't have enough spring tension. So anyway, the bike worked flawlessly today, rides real smooth and all. But me? I was having problems due to the heat, and perhaps ganged on top of yesterday's 3-hour ride. I had packed some sandwiches and when we rolled into Watertown around 1:30, we stopped for Gatorade & Coke and had ourselves a straight up trail-side picnic. Pointed the rides back towards the city, and shortly after, I had to stop and rest in the shade. Wrexican was stalwart as usual, making sure I didn't ride into any ravines and waited up when I was lagging. We finally made it back to the trailhead and made a bee-line for Medicine Lake. Rode ride up the water's edge and just sat up to our necks in water for about 20 minutes. What a lifesaver. The only downer was watching the Jet-skis and ski boats whizzing around such a small lake. After sufficient cooling, we got back on the bikes and rode down Glenwood Ave, making a stop at the American Legion club. The locals were in full effect. "Don't worry, they won't get stolen," a gent tells us as we roll up to the patio. "That looks too much like work!" Indeed. In for one and out again before ending the ride where we started. Cuppa Java for sandwiches and Sprecher Root Beer. I am smoked, but stoked to have gotten in back-to-back rides. First time that's happened in awhile...

Off with their heads!

ALL PHOTOS KELLY MACWILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY

as you can see, I took the Maglia Rosa at yesterday's StrongArm Marketing Bike Swap. Some unlucky chick got her head lopped off due the velocity of my bicycle. Lots of hangovers & bruises reported this morning from the peloton. Kelly Mac cracked a rib, too. Flameburger reportedly got "clothes-lined" on the ride home. More pics soon...Here they are:


Girl, you'll be a woman, soon...

Flameburger, Parts Washer, & Deep check Lucky's ride, yo!

Zitox heading for the pave!

Bike Swap Sunday, May 21

Nothin' but LOVE up in this piece. Must be lot's of time to hate when you're behind the wheel driving over Vail pass. Anyway, never mind that the Godfather is a bit disorganized. The 8th (?) Annual StrongArm Marketing Bike Swap will be held in the alley behind One On One this Sunday, the 21st.

Zito's CRC-to-QBP time trial

Zito had the wild f'n idea for me to open at 6:30 am, rather than the usual 7:00 for his inaugural CRC-to-QBP Time Trial. The morning dawned soggy, but I got to work on time and soon the ne'er-do-wells were showing up. Hell, Chef-Dogg was waiting at the door...

Matt Anderson brought timing equipment. And the team car...

Sov brought his game face. Stay tuned for updates.

Preliminary reports have Smokin' Joe Meiser as the victor.
FINAL RESULTS:
Joe Meiser 34:26.33
Brauer Power 36:42:88
John Fleck 39:59:78
Tatara 40:10:83
Zitox 43:08:32
Luby 45:02:13
Sovern 45:34:13
Blake 48:42:88
Cisco 49:38:29
Chef 50:18:08
Kate 1:06:11

Rubba Soul

Back in the day we used to ride trails located southwest of Mandan on a piece of property simply known as "the World." As in, "do you want to go ride around the World?" We'd load up the bikes into the yellow Dakota Cyclery VW bus, or on top of Klemer's Jeep Cherokee, throw a cooler full of Coor's beer in the back, and go have a ride. Afterward, there'd be the obligatory boolshit session about who got jacked on the Ho Chi Minh trail, how many rattlesnakes we bunnyhopped, and why XT was better than XC Pro... After about 9 beers one evening I snapped this photo of Klemer, Loren, and myself. Loren dubbed ii "rubba soul" perhaps due to it's wavy-gravy appearance, or maybe Klemer's muffintop.

I've never forgot the moment, nor the photo. [It ranks up there with the shot of Loren & I in the back of the yellow bus, Loren with notable collarbone trauma, me with blue bandana and hair that resembles a young Waylon Jennings. Ask to see it next time you're at the DC trailer in Medora.] What it all boils down to is that bicycles –and by definition, Loren– have always been the one constant in my life, the constant reminder of good times, good trails, and good friends. I am elated to hear that you are making progress, my friend. Keep on keepin' on.

For updates on Loren Morlock's condition, please click

help Loren heal

another weird vintage bike

Check out this crazy ride from the late '80's. It's in pretty rough shape, but the uniqueness of it made me buy it. All this talk about "69'er's" (29" front wheel w/26" rear) is nothing new. Cannondale was doing this 24"/26" thing in the late 80's with the idea that the smaller 24" rear wheel would give better acceleration and handling in the tight east coast singletrack. I think Pintz Guzzled has a pink one of these that he uses to haul his kegs around. Seems like a valid use for such a weird bike. Come check it out if you're in the neighborhood.

How Ya' Like Me Now?

Check out this sweet silver-soldered Osell tourer, from 1989. I went to Woodbury to buy some hubs and the guy also had this in his garage. I couldn't pass it up. Will be riding it from Minneapolis to Bismarck, ND at the end of June for my 20th High School reunion.

The replacement frame for my Unit 2-9 showed up on Monday.

Hope to see some dirt tonight!

Coming Soon...

This creeper should be in my hands within a week. Stay tuned for some big wheel madness...

Oh, Sweet Petaluma...

Some of the Kenwood boys showed up this a.m. Lots of nice steel rides, a 29'er, and even an original Petaluma Salsa La Raza. But this here Ala Carte was the belle of the ball, in my eyes. Made me wish I could go back in time and buy one. But then again, I've still got my Soulcraft.

The Devil Made Me Do It...

The cost of a Long Haul Trucker build-kit? Check your receipt...

Never trust a hippie (Free pissing match with purchase...)

Bravo, One On One, for renting (wtf?) my bike to some idiot over the weekend. Said idiot crashed and scraped the brand new 105 STI lever, tore the tape, and the best part is that Geno/Ben didn't even say anything! You fukkers. (Ben, you'll get paid when I get paid-FedEx.) Thanks for the free bar tape and all the booze...anyway, this sweet 58cm Salsa La Raza is for sale at the Cykel Garage.

This, however, is NFS. Eat your heart out, Gene.

The ORANGE chrome bags are back, and we have a few WHITE ones as well. Unofficial bag of Blazing Sads. Get 'em while they're hot. Also in stock, On One Midge bars, the unofficial bar of Dave Pike/Rubber Side Dowwwn Productions.

we now return to our regulary scheduled pissing match. Kudos.

Who wants a 29'er? YOU want a 29'er...

OK, here's the deal of the day down at the CRC Cykel Garage. Gary Fisher Xcaliber 29'er. She's a biggun'. 21" frame (center-to-top), 25" effective toptube. Its a geared frame, but Pete Geigle found the magic gear, and that gear is 34 x 20. Priced to move at $550. Get dowwwn...

Cordel Backman (The Tall Guy)

When I was in high school there was a real lanky kid named Cordel Backman. We called him the Tall Guy, for a tall drink o'water he was. This isn't his bike, but I bet it would fit him perfectly. It's a 64cm Raleigh Professional, late 70's vintage, I think. Yes, it's for sale at the Cykel Garage. Come on down, Ray. We'll find a way to make it fit...

Snow Blind!

With only 1 week until spring, Ma' Nature hath unleashed her fury. We're not scared. Much to Ray's chagrin, I managed to ride the Steamroller in to work with only marginal issues. Pushed 'er up Mt. Curve hill, stopped by Lund's for some supplies, and had doors open at 7:05 am. Helped push one stuck car out of the drift, drove Kurt's truck while he pushed, and loaned the UPS man my shovel not once, but twice, to dig out his stuck truck. Speaking of UPS, look what Brown dropped off this am:

Riders Ready, Watch the Lights!

I just watched the best film on the history of BMX this week. Talk about a torrent of memories. BMX is the reason I'm still entrenched in the bike lifestyle, the reason that Cars-R-Coffins exists.
Damn, Sam, it's been one month open down here at CRC HQ. And even though it was raining on my ride in this morning, and right now as I write this it is snowing, we are on the homestretch to springtime. Yesterday, BRose took the reins and opened the doors for me so that I could sleep in past 7 a.m. for the first time in over a month. (thank you, BRose). And what happened as a result? Our best day ever, tables packed all day, bike rack out front full of bikes. It's a beautiful thing. So I thank all of you for your continued support and patience as this thing evolves. In a few weeks when the weather warms up, we'll have the Garage door open, some sidewalk seating, and a whole lotta fun. Drop by when you're in the area. Thanks to Greg from Ft. Greene/Brooklyn for searching us out during his visit to Mpls. He recommends a film I've yet to see: "THE END OF SUBURBIA: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream." Sounds pretty accurate.

cheers,
-Hurl E.
CRC

This one's for you, Marko...

Breakfast is always great when it's Hot-N-Ready. So great, in fact, that I had two of these this morning. Had to soak up the rock from last night's Early Man/Priestess/The Sword show.