050: The Stuff Legends are Made of.

I'm really trying to break my T-shirt habit, but these new shirts from Rapha aren't helping anything. I saw these shirts a few weeks ago and wanted to know more about them. So, when I found myself in Rapha's head office the other day, it was the first thing that I asked.

"Who do I need to talk to about these Legend Shirts?"

This was one of the people I was directed to. Graeme Raeburn was the man for the job and he helped me get all the answers that I needed while providing the background stories as well. Also, if I'm informed correctly he is a 'leg breaker' on the bike.


I was directed to two people actually. Sam Huddleston and Graeme were the go-to guys for the shirts. They also only answered my questions after explaining that it wasn't they who actually designed them, it was a designer by the name of Ultan Coyle, they just cleaned them up and made the designs really work.



The designs were based around each of the three riders kits (or strips as they are known here in the UK) and at the same time attempting to encompass the magnitude of the personalities of the three riders.



Le Professeur: Laurent Fingnon
I like this one,(I like all of them actually) and it is reminiscent of his time with Renault - Elf - Gitane. It is interesting to note that Fingnon was actually hired on the Gitane team to ride support for Mr. Hinault, another one of this Legends series.

The design, so say the designers, was meant to be a little more cut and dried with this one. A little more "clinical" I think was the word. Seems fitting for someone who's nickname was le Professeur.

"Prix Citron" is also written on the shirt and means, or lends itself to meaning "sour lemon." It also, at least in terms of the French Open is given out to the player with the "strongest character." That could mean a number of things...such as his fortitude and strength in riding, his ability to survive all odds based on character strength...or could also point to something else. Maybe a 'bitterness' in losing by eight seconds to some American that shall remain unnamed. Either way, he's still a legend.


Le Blaireau: Bernard Hinault
Blaireau means "badger" in French. Besides being one of my favorites in the animal kingdom it also adequately describes Hinault. Not only physically does his stance on the bicycle make him look kind of like a badger...his spikey hair and lips curled back into a grimace in the photo that hung over the doorway of one shop where I used to work. But, he also had a penchant for never letting go. Never letting go of his prey or opponents, which is also a characteristic of the well known animal of the same name.

This has to be my favorite of the three shirts though. With the La Vie Claire squares well represented and the tiny badger (which Sam made) replacing the bird that once sat in the corner. It must have been somewhat of a treat for the designers to work in the De Stijl style onto a shirt. Well played.

Favorite Badger story: Instead of stopping at the blockade that was put up by protesters in one Tour De France Hinault instead flicked down a few gears and charged right into the protesters. Not stopping his bike, instead speeding up, causing himself a few broken ribs and his adversaries - well, I'm sure they got quite a fright too.


De Leeuw Van Vlaanderen: Johan Museeuw
The Lion of Flanders as he was known to all. I love this shirt as well. Its Mapei roots make me smile thinking of Museeuw's grimace of sheer pain that is only made comical by the number of brightly colored baubles and boxes placed throughout his Mapei kit.

And as a side note, I've always wondered where Hup got their kit ideas. Was that a slam? I don't think so.

Favorite Lion story: This as well is one that Graeme and I talked about at Rapha HQ the other day. That Musseuw had come back from his Paris-Roubaix knee injury a couple years later to win the prestigious race, and as he entered the Velodrome (one that I'm excited to see in a couple weeks) he pointed at his knee while crossing the line. That some said he would never race again. Ha! This was a testament to the fact that this is the ultimate hard-man.

I asked why Rapha decided to go with the tshirt instead of a jersey or something a little more extravagant? As Graeme so aptly put it: *"They are the kind of shirt that you'll be wearing out someday and someone who gets it, they'll know and either come and talk to you about them, or you'll get some sort of wink or nod of acknowledgment." That's ok with me.


The other thing that we talked about. Or noticed out loud was that these articles of Rapha clothing do not carry their signature Stories. On every piece of Rapha clothing there is a little story, sometimes they are printed on tags, sometimes the inside pocket of a jersey, another one is just silk screened to the inside of a shirt. However, there was nothing hidden with the depths of these shirts.

Why?

"Well, I don't think that there are Insides Stories with these" remarked Graham. "The inside story is whether or not you know what the actual shirt is talking about. Who these characters are and what they stand for."

I think that these shirts are great. They are great artistic tributes to some cycling greats without having to plaster their faces all over everything. Which, with the exception of the Great Mario (you know the look, out the car window, huge hair), who wants to see anyway? What I'm really wondering is, are there more? Who would be next? Merckx? Tchmil? Lemond? (seems like an obvious choice given the other two and the heat between them...but would Rapha choose a...gasp...American??)

Get them here.

*these are paraphrases from a few conversations that we had, and even those I'm using "quotes" I'm using them rather loosely.

049: N a h b s: Chris King and Cielo

See, I'm guessing you like it better this way. Spread out the content a little bit, that way you don't have to sift through it all at once. I'll just keep working under this guise for a while.



This is Chris Aguirre (Wrath of God) who took the time to walk me through what the fine people over at Chris King have been working on for a while now. Apparently Chris (Aguirre, not King) is a fan of sneakers, just like me. So, we had a lot in common. This guy knows his stuff.

048: Volume3.

Party Photos Here.

Also, this appeared last night. Craig Roth is putting these little beauties together. Hopefully we'll have enough of them soon to put them up on the site. Craig made some of them for the Volume2.5 Launch Party back in December and asked that I not post about it until there were more ready and available. Note sure if they're ready yet, but I love this one so much that I had to put it up there. I'll keep hounding him and we'll see what we can come up with.

This pouch is the perfect size for traveling. It works as a nice toiletry bag. Every gentleman and woman should have one. In fact a woman tried to steal mine last night and use it as a purse, casually slipping her own effects into its lined interior and sliding into the night. I caught her, its back where it belongs.

047: Party Time (again.)

By the time you read this I'll be on a bus to New York City.

Sounds daunting enough I know, but I packed the new Rouleur and I'm ready to go. I absolutely love this publication. Recently a friend and I were talking about just this magazine, the quality of the writing, the subjects of the stories, the amazing photography that all gets packed into each and every issue. (I mean one has to have goals right?)

Anyway, the thing that caught both our attentions, and being a long time book lover (Mom, Dad, Austin family, you were right, we didn't need that TV) was the smell. Could be the paper that they use, or maybe it is the ink and toner combination, I don't know? All I know is that every time I get a new copy of Rouler, I smell it.

Alright, and if that isn't war enough on your senses. Then maybe the combination of frites, tequila, and cycling is right up your alley.

If you happen to be in the NYC area tonight (its a big area, I know), come check this out.

046: The Periphery.

Every time I publish a new volume of Embrocation Cycling Journal I learn something new. For example, this time around I had someone proofread the whole thing. Twice. In fact, I then took what The Gus had proofread, and I read through it again.

Yet, I still forgot something.
Something very, very important.

If any of you know and are familiar with the photography of Chris Milliman you will know that he is at the core PRO. Professional in a way that makes everyone else just kind of look silly in comparison. I mean, his list of clients could be boasted as probably one of the best in the industry. Everything from (and I'm probably going to get some of these wrong here, I'm just going by memory) Giro, fi'zi:k, Specialized, Velonews, Serotta, Cannondale, shit, the list goes on and on (I can keep going if you want...Ibex, Crank Brothers, Liquigas, should I stop?)...

Check out the sheen of embrocation on Hott Sam's Legs. Hot indeed.

Anyway, I first got to work with Mr. Milliman (as he should from now on be called) with the Rapha Continental project. Our first ride shooting together was actually the first one I participated in, a ride labeled "Occidental."

From there on out the rest was history...
Or something to that effect.

In Embrocation Volume2 Chris had a spread of his photos from the 2008 Tour of California. They are pretty amazing portraits that were taken during the Prologue. My favorite shot is one of Boonen that he took from the bridge that went over the course. It show's Boonen descending into the Darkness. As I'm sure most of these riders have to do to ride as fast and hard as they can all the time.

However I think some of my favorite Milliman photos appear on under the D2R2 Rapha ride. Chris does a great job capturing cycling photography. Any given weekend of the cross season you can find him on a cross course from anywhere in New England to the mud covered fields of Portand and don't rule out Belgium either. So we know he know's how to shoot riders...


But what he does in the D2R2 photo shoot is amazing and not related to the sports shooting that we're used to seeing. In the barn sides and wide open fields he plumbs the depths of what cycling photography can and should mean. The periphery. How it all the pieces fit together to tell a story. How the sides of barns and fields of wheat all play characters in the greater story that is being told.

Which is why, when I was putting together a piece on Seven Cycles I turned to Chris Milliman for the photography. This time asking him to capture the minutiae of what goes on behind the scenes at Seven. Here are a couple of photos that didn't make it into the final piece. Which just goes to show...what's in the final piece?

So, these two photos...the one of the derailleur's at the beginning and this one are just a taste of what's involved in Embrocation Volume Three. Yet, that's not the point of this post. I said at the start that I forgot something important.

And this is where I openly apologize to Mr. Milliman. I forgot to credit you for the cover shot. Sure, there's a list of contributors and your name appears there. But this is what holds the whole volume together. Pun intended.

This has been my favorite photo of the 08-09 Cyclocross season and I forgot to say where it came from. What a jerk. Sorry Chris.

When Chris sent me this photo. The week after he took it at Gloucester I emailed him back a minute later. "This is the cover for Volume3. Can I use it. Please." Or something to that effect.

I had maybe one page of the volume completed at this point, but I knew that I wanted to use this photo for the cover...and it stuck there ever since.

I hope you'll forgive me.

045: N a h b s : Wrap-up. Part One. Of Many.

I realized while looking through the photo and video content that I obtained from the handmade show that I would have to post about three times a day for the next...ok, so I didn't think it through that far. What I'm trying to say is that I've still got good stuff from the land of handmade bicycles. I'll just keep dipping in to it as things get boring.





A video of Sacha White talking about his new Speedvagen Track Bike. Pretty hot stuff. But then again, that is kind of what we all expect from Vanilla right? That's just the way that it goes.

I started a 'channel' on vimeo to put these things.
Check it out.

As I was watching this video I came across this little article by Amy Walker over at Momentum Magazine. They had a very nice booth at the show and took some great photos as well. I think that somewhere they had a booth set up...

The last part of her article she talks about the five things that could be done to enhance the Nahbs experience for next year. I'm a big fan of this. I'm glad that she has opened the dialogue as to keeping these things not only fun and exciting but working to expand the cycling audience.

I'm a big fan of her #4. Thanks Amy.

I would also like to add one on as well.

6. Expand the awards to include a number of other artistic diversions that happen throughout the show. There are all kinds of things happening in the periphery that are easily overlooked each year. Like, as Amy mentions earlier in her article, the lack of women builders.

So, here's what I've got for you.

NAHBS: The Other Awards. And the Other Winners.

Award:
Best Underground Club Formed During the NAHBS
Winner:
The Hot Tub Club.

You thought I was going to say the Framebuilders Collective didn't you? Nope. I don't think this one got the same amount of hype, but who knows where they will be in a year. My guess is that they're going straight to the top.

Letsee...who have we here: I think all the major food groups are represented. Signal Cycles, Villin, Courage, Seven Cycles, Cambridge Bicycle Shop, Chicagoland Racing (Ben Popper), Hufnagel Cycles, and if you look closely even Sachs in the background. (Thanks to Molly for the Photo.)

Award:
Best Guerrilla Marketing Campaign
Winner:
Independent Fabrication

What is guerrilla marketing anyway?

Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing tactics are unexpected and unconventional; consumers are targeted in unexpected places, which can make the idea that's being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally.
- Wikipedia.

Novel concept.

This was their campaign. Taking over bathrooms everywhere.

What I would be really curious to see though. Is photos from bike shops everywhere. Because they gave out these posters at their booth and I'm sure that they have made their way to gracing the walls over more than one fine bicycle purveyor? This might actually make a good photo spread for an upcoming Embrocation: Bike Shop Bathrooms. I could see that.


Award:
Best Sock Puppet.
Winner:
Pucket, the official Artbike Puppet.

Pucket is the one on the left. I believe that she was given out as part of the raffle that Artbike was holding during their Goldsprints event. I don't know why someone would want to give up such a wonderful prize/pet, but who am I to judge. All I know is that she's got a good home now. I don't know what happened to the creepy blue sock puppet.

Award:
Best Nahbs T-shirt
Winner:
Duh.


I used the same image for the intro to the Speedvagen video above. There are still some available. You can get them here.

——

Now, maybe some of these would be considered "joke" awards. I wouldn't consider them in that fashion, but whatever. But I think that it brings up a good point, and that point being that there needs to be more going into the Nahbs awards and award ceremonies. For example and in all seriousness now:

Paint - These guys work their asses off to make sure that all the bikes look good. There could even be individual awards. Best Paint Job, Best Painter, Best Thematic Paint Job?

Booths - I've seen a ton of work go into each and every booth that goes up at these things. Why is there not an award for this? It might also make it interesting to see where they go from year to year. Maybe get a Home Depot to sponsor this award and give out a gift certificate for the winner to use for their booth next year? Just another little idea.

Best Use of An Old Thing in a New Way - I don't know if you saw the Signal wine rack, but that is what I'm talking about.

044: JDK Design

Went up to Burlington, Vermont the other day. Pretty uneventful drive in the rain. Yet, I'm guessing that is what you want out of a drive in the rain. If I said something like...pretty event-full drive in the rain that may imply lots of crashes and whatnot. That didn't happen.

Visited the likes of JDK Design while up there. Click on that link. Check out the bird, or birds that pop up, wait a minute and then click on the little cloud in the upper right hand corner. Prepare yourself to be amused for a few minutes. Good stuff.

Seated right next to Lake Champlaine the JDK offices are a sight to behold. It was a mix of amusement and fascination traipsing through their halls. The open space aspect of the studios contained within lent itself to their design style. With an emphasis on the outdoor industry clients like Merrell, Patagonia, Chaco, Burton, and even a crazy little electric lawnmower get amazing design makeovers from these guys. Can you say "design makeover?" Or does that sound like some new reality tv show? I can tell you what though. There would definitely be Space Invaders in my design makeover.


Not to mention the fact that it just looks like a great place to work.

This is the 10 Minute Design Wall. I can't remember if the designer of the month gets ten minutes to design each one, or ten minutes total. But you can see the resulting images are pretty amazing.


Another cool (and mind you, when I say cool, I mean pretty fucking awesome) part about working at JDK is the Skate Park in the Basement. I capitalized that because, well, they have a skate park in their basement. I don't even skate, not even a little bit. Never have. Actually, I take that back. Once I had a Snoopy Skateboard that I started riding around the neighborhood in good ol Lancaster, Wisco. I got made fun of so much by the local "street tuffs" that I stopped riding it and started hating Snoopy for it. So, that's the extent of my skate abilities.


However, I wanted to dust off Snoop for just this occasion.

The other thing that they have in the basement is the Iskra Print Collective. This is a pretty cool project that they have going on as well. A place for their designers to work on the print end of things. No big deal, they just all chip in to help pay for materials and they can use it whenever they want. Ok, guys, I'm in. All you have to do is ask. I'd even consider moving to Burlington, VT. Just sayin.

The great part about the Print Collective is that they team with local venue Higher Ground and produce limited edition posters to couple with bands that are performing. Good bands. Sweet bands. Like the Decemberists. This part of it also took me back a few because I have always had a sick fascination with concert posters.

My friend Michael lives in San Fran and goes to the Fillmore every once in a while and he always comes away with Sick, Sick posters from the events. That's kind of what Iskra is doing. Just cranking out sick sick shit. Keep it up.

They also have a little book. _ of 1500 that they put out to chronicle their 10 year relationship with Higher Ground and all the posters that they have produced. I actually wrote about it once here. This was definitely part of the impetus behind checking these guys out. I was really psyched to see their print shop. Who knows, maybe there's an Embrocation Poster in my/your future?

043: N a h b s : the T-shirt

I created this t-shirt because I love the North American Handmade Bicycle Show and all that it stands for. Simple, effective and containing some of the people that have been an influence to me over the last year...Sachs, of course Igleheart, and even Retrotec. So, get one before they are gone. The shirt from last year sold right the hell out.

T-shirts are a funny thing. Radio Freddy from BKW (who is sneakily featured in this shirt) once said that Stickers were the currency of the bicycle industry, and I would have to agree. However, stickers would have to be the change that rattles around in your pocket. If only because I've been handing out the same f:izik stickers to everyone I know since returning from the show.

T-shirts would then be the dolla bills.

I've made this reference before. Sort of.

Yet it made me think of a time, not that long ago that we were using T-shirts in any way that we could. To promote races, advance the shop that we were all working for, to wear around the streets of Cambridge. A time when a certain Embrocation was just a gleam in the eyes of...well, me really. So we put up a $100 prime to the first person over the barriers at a race in Long Island. Ryan Trebon won it.

This guy showed up too...


Hit the Photo for the full story...or what happened then.

Good friend Craig Roth designed this Tshirt. And then, someone went and designed a shirt of him. Strange how that works...

042: Of Note.

A few quick things to note.

Embrocation Volume2.5 Cover Shot

1) anyone who missed out on the highly publicized Embrocation Volume2.5...it is back. Sort of. Our friends over at Competitive Cyclist found the copies that they had previously thought lost. Good work! If you haven't seen it, you can get one here. But do so quickly, because it is filled with references to the content contained within Volume3. Which is available for pre-order and will be here on March 23. Just in time for our release party...on the March 23.

Peter Bradshaw. Embrocation Racing.

2) I totally forgot what two was going to be. Oh yes. Embrocation Volume 3 Launch Party Release Party Extravaganza will be on March 23 at the Middlesex Lounge . There will be bikes, beer, and blood. Not to worry though, the blood is only metaphorical, it came packaged with the sweat and tears that went into producing Volume3. And if you don't think sweat and tears went into it...then there will be blood. Starring Daniel Day Lewis.

Moving on...


The weather took a turn for the worse in Boston.
That's it, I'm out of here.

I grew up in the cold, cold winters of Wisconsin and when I moved to Boston and looked at the overall temperature difference between the two states I thought. "Well, this will be a nice change. Instead of getting down to -25 degrees in the winter it only dips into the negatives maybe once or twice." Well, I'm sick of that now too.

Ok, enough ranting.


You know what is good in the snow and crappy weather?

Fenders.

These amazing marvels of modern technology have been keeping cyclists legs, feet and friends dry for years.

When I was out in Portland though I noticed a little bit of extra that was being put into the fender arena on cyclists bikes. Since they tend to get a little more precipitation than the rest of the country most of the people I rode with have "rain bikes." Makes sense I guess. A bike totally set up and equipped with fenders full-time. Something to turn to when the weather gets a little wet.

My buddy Ryan has a rain bike. It's a Vanilla. But that's kind of how he rocks it. High-Style. Not that I blame him either. Although, mine would probably have to be a Nashiki something to that effect...but who knows.


Another thing that I noticed about the West Coast Fender Scene (similar to a hard-core scene, but more subtle were the mud flaps attached to the bottom of the fenders. These little beauties hang down off the end of the fender and really stop the spray from going anywhere. You ride behind someone with these, like I did this past weekend and you start to notice that the water, instead of popping up and into your face, just collects and runs right back down onto the road, like it should.


Nothing on your feet.
Nothing on your back.
Nothing on your compatriots.

Which is why we here at Embrocation Cycling Journal decided to pull these little beauties together and offer them to you fine cycling people out there. Take a look at the "buy" section of the website. You may notice a few other exciting things popping up there...

Thanks,
jd

041: Inside Stories.

Rode outside yesterday.
The weather was pretty temperate and the pace was high.
Made me question my decision to move from the East to the West.
But only for a second.

This is Colin. He's as Pro as they come.

Don't worry, I've still got a ton of Nahbs stuff to go through. Will try to get some videos out this weekend.

Also, a good friend of mine who wishes to remain unnamed is helping me to compile a new list of awards from the show. Lets just say that not only does it involve sock puppets, but it also involves hot tubs and hairy men.

In other news. Embrocation Volume3: Cyclocross is at the printer. Just a few short weeks and we (meaning you) should have that puppy in your hands. There is a launch event that is coming together as well, so stay tuned for that.

Ok, enough small talk, lets get on to what I really want to talk about today. Rapha.

Since I've been gone for the past few months I have directed all of my mail to my LBS. I wouldn't recommend this method of mail transfer for everyone, but it seems to be working out ok for me at the moment. The tough thing is, when you've got packages that show up addressed by the likes of Slate Olson and the Rapha crew (if only they knew that the package was from Ben Lieberson and contained prototype gloves would they have left it unopened?) its hard to keep these things under wraps.

However, I stopped in today just as the postman was leaving the shop. I think I saw a little glimmer of disappointment in Jasons eyes as he handed over the fedex envelope.

Initially I thought that it might be the new copy of Rouleur. Maybe they decided they should send over their amazing publication as a sort of a...well I don't know what? Catalyst maybe? Or maybe it was a new product? Something slim and sort of the size of Rouleur? Maybe it was a bunch of Italian newspapers for me to stuff down the front of my shirt for tomorrows ride. How tight would that be?

'hey guys, why use the craft baselayer when you can go Italian?"

No, it wasn't that either. Ok, well it was a copy of Rouleur, I lied, but that's not what I was psyched about. There was another little book tucked away in the envelope. That's what caught my eye. What could it be?


Inside Stories — A Collection of Rapha Labels.

Since our launch, every Rapha has contained a discrete label, featuring a story about a cycling hero, mythical place or dramatic race.

Is the first thing that greets you as you open the book. What I first noticed though was the attention to detail in everything that you see when first presented with the book. The paper is of high quality (as should be expected with any Rapha product) the layout is simple and smooth, even the little drawings contained within have a touch of class to them.


The label stories themselves run the gamut from Commuting to words about classic mountain passes (Mortirolo) to references to classic teams come and gone —St. Raphael and Peugeot BP to name of few.

The drawing of the "Bad Fish" ie...doping till it hurts you. Is priceless.


My favorite though is the page that beings "Campag or Shimano." Oh, tireless debate, turn over once more in our minds. And that is half what you expect, yet, the writing around the circles on the opposite page read like this:

Campy or Shimano?
How about mistake #1 or mistake #2?
Campy or Shimano?
I'm not part of that discussion.
It makes me laugh.
How about 9 hours or 10 hours?
How about, will I be freezing cold, or will I be freezing cold and wet?


Amazing.
That's why I like the guys over at Rapha.
They get it.

At the current time of posting I have no idea where to get this book.
Just that it is awesome.

040: N a h b s: The t-shirt collection

Try as I might to limit the number of t-shirts that I picked up this year. I couldn't do it. I came home with no less than ten t-shirts...not good. Or, good, depending on how you look at it.

I looked at almost every booth there to find what I deemed to be the best shirt of the show. Here are some of my favorites.

Big fan of the color scheme on the Signal Cycles shirt. If you remember, and I hope you do. This was the color scheme of their award winning bicycle last year at the show in Portland. Great image of the satellite too. Apparently at the show this year they overheard someone saying that "a signal is something that you receive, not send, so in this case the waves on the satellite would be going the wrong direction." My response to that? "Hey Pal, its art. Art."

This one cracks me up. It is from Inglis Cycles the frame company of Curtis Inglis. He makes really sweet bendy frames. I spent a good amount of time lusting after one of his 29ers last year. He also does a really great job of putting together slick paint jobs to go on his bikes. Ingliss was also the host of the 2008 Mountain Bike Single Speed World Championships in Napa Valley...what else?


Meet Andrew Frasca of October Hand Made Bikes. Great guy. Great bikes. I love the slogan that he is using on his shirt. "Guided by a different set of principles." Yes, my friend. In this industry we all are. Lust, greed...kidding, I'm only kidding.... Another thing that I really like about the shirt is the off-center positioning of his logo. I love when photos bleed off the page of a magazine, and I love when t-shirt graphics wrap around.

Here we have Jon from No Brakes, a shop in Atlanta. I visited his shop last January on a visit to Atlanta. It is a really small shop run by a bunch of really great guys. I'm glad to see that they are still doing it. In fact, I got to spend some time with these guys and it sounds like they're doing pretty well. Here Jon just finished up his heat of the Gold Sprints during the Art Bike Party that was held on Friday night of the show.

I like the No Brakes t-shirt. In fact, I am now a proud owner of the Yellow (not for Livestrong, just happens to be the same color) version. I like how the beard of the man on the shirt bleeds out to say "No Brakes." I like beards too.

Here we have our man Chris Igleheart. I tell people all the time..."no Purple, purple equals crazy." In fact, I had a girlfriend in college who used to love the color purple. Everything that she owned was purple. Purple shirts, purple bike, purple purple purple. And I know everyone says it about their ex girlfriends, but this girl was craaaazy. I'm not even lying.

I like Chris' shirt though. I like it because I have one of his single speed 29ers (pictured in the shirt) and it rides like a dream. The bike has 'Guilt Trip' painted in the top tube. Guilt Trip indeed, for ever time I look at that bike I feel bad that I don't ride it enough. Sigh.

Jordan Hufnagel is from Indianapolis. What a rad guy he is too. He is the founding member of the NAHBS Hot Tub Club. Which boasts a pretty great membership too. Lots of builders and friends of builders. Signal Cycles are a part of it. Midwest Cross Racer Ben Popper made an appearance, and by the end of the weekend it was all I could do to not beg desperately to be let in to the club.

Jordan also did a great job of hosting the weekend. He took Molly and I back to his parents place to cook some vegan food. I'm no where near vegan, but Molly is so she really appreciated the break from middle america slop...I mean stuff.

DeSalvo. 10 Year Aniversary. This one is for you Yash.

Courage Cycles. Another Portland builder here. They really are everywhere. These guys were really great to hang out with though and if I had to choose brought their A game in the Cyclocross Department. Ah, how I love the three color stripe combo. You could say that I'm a sucker for it. Also a sucker for the Griffin. This mythical beast is known for its Lions body coupled with the wings of an eagle...one feather of said wings are known to cure blindness. Which I would think would be a good thing.

Jay Sycip. Hold that Cielo shirt close to you my friend. Jay also designed the packaging that the Cielo bikes ship in. There is a photo in yesterdays post. Jay said that more people looked at the packaging than they did the actual bikes. Dimensions were taken, mouths were drooled from, and Cielo moved on into the future. The future.

Last but certainly not least we have a t-shirt from our Teddy Ruxspin toting friends over at Broakland Bicycles. If you click on that link you'll be taken to their Myspace page. It is interesting to note that the character, or avatar if you will, that is Broakland Bicycles is a green elf that is tearing his own guts out...but the guts are shaped in the form of "Broakland Bicycles."

I wish that I had the sheer tenacity that it would take to tear your own guts out and then form them into some sort of shape, or in this case, words.

These guys were pretty great though. Every time I would see them hoards of people would be standing around their booth. Watching them. Emmulating them. Trying to get their hands on that cute little bear that plays cassette tapes from his backside.

This is my favorite shirt from the show.
There, I said it. Its done. Yes, and...good.

Lex from Villin Cycle Works is pretty much an all around amazing guy and he's got the t-shirt to match. Don't try and fight it, just believe in its power. "What does it mean though?" Does that mean he wants to be taking a nap instead of building bikes? I doubt it, I mean he did just chop this here pile of logs, but I'm sure he's not napping.

Thanks Lex and everyone who knowingly, or unknowingly participated in my sick obsession with the t-shirt.

I also ran into some very classy and interesting t-shirts today that I'll try to get to at some point.

But it does beg the question:
Do T-shirts (especially the ones that say 'Virginia is for Lovers') make the world go round?