Yet Another Burrito Night Sandy Skipped

A Few Nuggets Of Grave Import....

Jose was right and his proof was in the pudding known as Google Images, and not "Pixel Sticks" as Jose lovingly refers to them. What proof? Basically, the Soma RUSH track frame downtube graphic and its eerie similarity to this... and yeah, who's gonna be at Papa Jazz tomorrow thumbing through the dollar bins looking for this piece of cultural awesomeness/genocide???

Rachael from the good ship PCC sent along this reminder of some very cool folks doing a very cool bike ride that'll be taking them though "our fair city", which you could argue is cool or not so cool. Please do not argue. Apparently, you can sign up to accompany them on the next leg of their arduous journey. Sorry, no rebumbents (weirdos).


Methinks this will make an excellent episode of "Mock Trial With Judge Reinhold"...

Sadly, this has already gone to trial (well not exactly) and perhaps justice wasn't served. Read BOTH articles and draw your own conclusions...
The "incident" (to use "LOST" speak)
The "uh, well, hmmm" (to use graphics department speak)

Today's Tom Sawyer?

OK, first of all. This is Geddy Lee, the ugliest man on Earth and bassist for the band RUSH:

Second, please gaze upon the new green Soma RUSH track frame in all its prog glory! FRAM3740 (for those of you following along in your catalog) sports new, completely contradictory graphics on the down tube and seat tube. One part Silca font (thanks Brian) and one part "Boogie Nights" (thanks Jose), all parts "removable" to accommodate your "PANTERA STILL ROX" or "Nomah!" custom graphic you have on order....

Commuter Bike Of The Week...

... Belongs to Justin of Shipping/Receiving/Perfumery. You may know him as Justy, Justicus Maximus or Old Fuss-n-Feathers, but to the accounting and sheriff's department, he shall always be J-Town and J-Town's commuter ride is a case study in functional frugality melded with Tokyo cyberfunk. Cobbled together from pieces both purchased and donated (sic. conjured), this is a lovely, Krylon-ed commuter bike that would be welcome in any Hawley employee's stable. A little background info on this week's commuter: Justin enjoys tallboys of energy drink, good posture, endless loops of sitar music, venting his unfounded rage against Mother Nature, forklifts, running into The Blog at Lucero concerts and volunteering at the local motion sickness clinic. For a good commuting time, feel free to give J-Town a ring...

Nice lugwork coupled with the ubiquitous Cateye taillight & DIY seatpost clamp bolt...
Speckled accents along the fork legs remind one of a spotted salamander served with kidney bean salad, peach cobbler and bread roll...
Singleworks Brown Marble cork handlebar tape (HDTP0924) for the lover of fine things, like brown marble. Check out those headset spacers! That's mah boy!!!
Even with the Kenda cross tires, this mystery road frame has pretty good tire clearance.
Ciao ciao!

Basso In Your Face, Not An Eight Track...

Holy moley, it appears Ivan Basso is back and "cleaner" than ever? Only time and the passage of bodily fluids into a lab cup will tell, but one must admit that there was certainly "no frontin" on his performance from Sunday afternoon's little jaunt up the Zoncolan in The Giro. Homeboy was obviously "feelin' it" and from his "pain" face, he wanted all those maniacal fans on the mountainside, the press and his fellow riders to know that this was only a precursor to the cycling "beatdown" that will be administered for the duration of this week! Is he screaming? Is he laughing? Is he scraughing??? Best check yourself, dummy...

Speaking of "beatdown" and "feelin it", Hawley-ites Will G and Josh X drove up to Tsali for the annual 12 Hours of Tsali. Nobody podiumed but at least Will got mud in his bibs and Josh mentioned something about "I've made a huge mistake." Nonetheless, to quote Woody Allen, "90 percent of life is just about showing up...."

Hawley Bike To Work Day, 2010!

Tons of thanks to Brueggers Bagels for supplying the ride with post-ride bagels, muffins and coffee! Not only are they committed to filling our bellies with awesomeness, they're committed to supporting cyclists and cycle-friendly communities. Starbucks' coffee tastes like bat pee and their muffins are borderline poison. BRUEGGERS FOREVER!!!

A Few Things Of Some Import

Firstly, esteemed purchasing department cohort Patrick forwarded this bit of Double Down-related information yesterday. I don't know if I should be sickened or elated, or a little of both (sicklated?) but it's worth the cursory glance. I guess viral marketing works and it's here to stay. Unfortunately, with this fat bomb's success, is it a portent of things to come for an ever-expanding (in waist) American public? Hmmmm. Let's hope that steamed vegetable viral campaign kicks into high gear later this summer. Then again, what better way to work off unwanted Double Down girth than a new bicycle from your local independent bike shop??? Secundo, yesterday's Ride Of Silence in Columbia can officially be deemed a "smashing success". Looked like 150 or so cyclists gathered downtown for a slow ride through the heart of Columbia, complete with police escort.
The blaring sirens tended to intrude upon the "silence" every now and then but all in all, it was a strong showing of cyclist solidarity and the cops did a good job keeping the post-rush hour traffic at a safe distance. Our former shipping hefe Mark Etzkorn was run over by a car 6 months ago, left in a ditch unconscious with a few broken vertebrae, shredded knee ligaments and a broken collarbone so this ride had a some import for us Hawley folk. In fact, lots of good people rode with the names of fallen riders written on helmets or taped on their back in remembrance. Click for some good footage from a local televisual news outfit... (pay no attention to some of the idiotic comments below the TV story. Also, another story from The State about local cyclist deaths finally being addressed in the courts. Once again, try and avoid the idiocy on display in the comments section!)
Thirdish, tomorrow is Hawley's annual Bike To Work Day. We're meeting at 8:30 AM then taking a leisurely ride through Lexington to the Hawley mothership for breakfast stuff (sic. food, beverage, lute recital, buffoonery of a jester variety). Bring a bicycle, a helmet and some sort of food-themed Primal Wear jersey. If you whisper the magic phrase in Michael Bronson's ear ("Hippy meat chili half off at Publix"), he'll make you a custom ceramic coffee cup!