Poetry Reading Updates

Velocity is hosting a reading!
Should be a lot of fun. Lots of great readers, good food, good people, etc etc.

Here's the line-up: (new readers always welcome)
Jim Swill
Colin Evolve
Mathieu Paul
Brock Walker
Justin Wash
Sean Arnold
Matthew Freeman

If you aren't on the list, and would like to be, show up early and we'll sign you up.

Show starts at 7pm. Be there.

Tour De Lis Update 1

The checkpoints have all been set, and the race is on.

July 18th at Bworks (Thurman and Shenandoah), 2:00pm (registration at 1:00)

We need volunteers who don't want to race for checkpoints. Let me know if you're interested: jw.wash@gmail.com

Kickin' Rad!

X up over the hip!

Alleycat! In St. Louis?!

That's right. Preliminary planning for the first annual Tour de Lis (get it? fleur de lis...) is underway. More details will be added here very soon.



Spread the word.

The Ride Journal: Issue 1 Available Online

The Ride Journal released their first issue as a pdf for your home-viewing pleasure.

Check it out at the link above.

Move Over Carbon Fiber: Wood!

"Good Morning. Check out this killer wooden bike." - Lance Armstrong on his Twitter.

Arndt Menke thinks your next bicycle should be a wooden one. Paying strict attention to the flex and compress properties of wood and it's affect on bicycle strength and stiffness, the designer has designed a full-wood bike frame that looks rad, is supposedly more comfortable, and more powerful than a carbon fiber counterpart.

And the kicker?

The frame weighs only 2kg (under 5 lbs)

Everyone: Meet Charlie

Charlie is sad.
Why, you ask?
Today, May 11th, Charlie's MacBook was stolen from our shop. We have a vague description of the culprit, and the local police doing something, but keep your eyes peeled. Who knows which pawn shop the thing will end up at.

It's black, and has Devo/Pikachu on the desktop.

Bicycle Film Festival 2009

The Bicycle Film Festival, an annual celebration of bicycles through film, art, and music, will take place in Memphis this year. And you know what that means:

Road trip!

The festival starts on May 29 with "Fun Bike Shorts," "Urban Bike Shorts" and an afterpart with goldsprints somehow involved. Sounds like a good time to us!

Macaframa Arrives

Macaframa is a production in the style of skate videos like Lakai's "Fully Flared," about track bikes on the streets of San Fransisco. Filmed deftly in full HD, the video acts as successor to 2008's MASH SF, which pioneered the new cinematic genre.

For more info check out the website above, or the teaser below. The DVD goes for $40 with a picture book and lots of special features.

Support the urban cycling movent: buy cool stuff.

MACAFRAMA Trailer from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.

These Hubs Are Sick!

From The Intersection Bike Project

New Shirts Coming Soon

Design subject to change as we tweak a few things as far as printing is concerned.

If anyone knows a good local screen-printer, a recommendation would be much appreciated. It'd be great to support a local business by supporting our own.

Hemmingway on Bicycles

Wise words.

Swine Flu vs Urban Cycling: Round 1

"Believe it or not, the Swine Flu scare has now affected the urban cycling movement. The Mexican government has made the organizers of the much anticipated 2o Congreso Nacional de Ciclismo Urbano postpone the event.

This Urban Cycling Conference was set to run May 1st through 3rd, but is postponed until an undisclosed date. The Conference was initiated last year in Mexico City, and attracted Mexican cycling groups and government officials as well as activists from Spain, Chile, and the US. This year, it was planned for Mexico’s second largest..."

Head over to Urban Velo to read more.

Cyclist=Artist?

LOCUS Architecture, a leader in combining green architecture with modern design, brought together Twin Cities cyclists to make their mark and make a difference. Participants bunny-hopped, spun, skidded, and cruised over prints, recording individual tread signatures.



See more of the process and posters...HERE!

A silent auction of these limited edition Tread Prints will raise money for Full Cycle, a Minneapolis outreach program that provides bicycles and mechanical skill training to homeless and at-risk youth.

How freaking awesome is this. Can't separate the cyclists from the artists.

QuickFix Kits Are Here

An inexpensive solution to an ongoing problem.

The Blog Is Back!

After an extended hiatus, the Velocity Cyclery blog is back in action.

Shop and general cycling news, sales, promotions, events and a whole lot more will be posted here daily starting right now.

So check back often. Cycling doesn't stay still for long.

As a side note, Steeze:

Macaframa from MACAFRAMA on Vimeo.

Any Jazz Fans Out There?

Dave Stone with Partner Bridget. NYC 1979

Velocity is very excited to present local jazz saxophonist Dave Stone. Dave appears at Velocity on Thursday evenings from 7-9.

Enjoy dinner or some warm drinks and listen to live jazz. Not a bad way to beat those late winter blues. Come join us!

-J Cozad

Goodbye February...You Will Not be Missed

Seriously. 'Cabin fever', 'Seasonal Affective Disorder', 'Bad Case of the MONDAYS!', whatever you call it, this cyclist is climbing the walls and losing it. Arrrgghh.
It's almost March though. That means the end is in sight and sunny sweaty days with hours of saddle time are almost here. I've stayed on the bike through the winter and I must say I miss the out-of-breath exhilaration of hard exercise in the Missouri heat.
That's not to say that I won't be griping about the humidity in August. I will.
I will also be reminding myself of the alternative. The excessive amount of time it takes to get ready for the ride. The layers of clothes; dear heavens the layers. Oh and let's not forget windburn. Rosy red cheeks after every excursion.
I know what 'non-comedogenic' means now. Do you?
Do you need a little relief from the indoors? Well now is a perfect time to rent a bike at Velocity. Take a spin around the park, come back for some lunch. Now that's a nice day!
Also the Velocity Bike Repair class is back and being held on Wednesday March 4th from 6-8PM. Come in and sign up now. Brian will fill your brain with esoteric bike knowledge culled from the ancient Sumerian Velocistones. These stones originated on Planet X which by some reports is a mecca of cycling superstardom.
Is that what they mean by 'extraterrestrial'?
-J Cozad

Remember the other day when you asked me the definition of funny?

Holy cow, this is soooo the funniest! In the same way that BKW 'gets it', BSNYC is the nail getting its dome smashed up.
ha ha,
J Cozad

It's Monday. Sorry, not my fault...

I woke up this morning and thought it was Tuesday. I started savoring the idea of having the next two days off. I'm moving soon so there's a packing plan and the inevitable build up to transfer of residence. Lot's of stuff to do besides that too. Gotta figure out how to get the 40lb pail of cat litter home on my bike. This, that and the other.

About my first sip of coffee ( I get mine from Velocity Cafe, natch) I clicked on the weather. The weather for Monday January 5th. Dammit.

I love my job certainly, yet the bummer realization of my error did kinda drag me down. What, you've never been pumped for a day off? I want some empathy here people.



Lee and Cole from the FBC (the initials translate to a title that isn't quite PG-13) were here the other day. If you haven't heard of them the FBC is a loosely organized, yet strikingly motivated bicycle fun force. I have to give them credit for not only imagining interesting theme bike rides, but also putting those ideas into action. The next full moon bike ride will be coming up soon. Check them out and go. Just don't be too serious about it and possibly leave the lycra at home.



Frostbike rides organized by Team Revolution start on Jan 10th so if you haven't signed up or simply haven't heard about them check a few posts back on this blog for details.

Keep the rubber side down,
J Cozad

Happy New Year/Phat Pro Cycling Links...

Happy new year from the Velocity crew to you! Hope we all get past 2008 and may 2009 bring eternal tailwinds and sunny days.
On to a different topic. Found this on YouTube. Some of the coolest race footage on the Internet.
If you enjoy bike racing, grab something Trappist and hoppy, and park yourself in front of your monitor. And make sure to watch it in high res!
HNY,
J Cozad