this is one of my favorite of the photos shot by Linda Sue Amundson at the All-City. You will remember her and her lovely assistant Don as the couple who was shooting headshots over at the registration table. I will post the whole set very soon, I'm just kind of taking a little vacation after the stress of last week.
I will also at your request be digging deeper into the results to give you more time trial scores and at least a top 30 placing in the mens' field.
Also I will bring the manifests to the no name on Sunday so if you want yours back. You better show up.
I'm not one to get upset about every little indignity visited upon us cyclists as ours is a righteous cause and we dish out plenty of indignities ourselves, but holy shit, this video really struck a nerve.
Now I don't care much for the police, never have, and I suspect I never will. It's nothing personal against the officers or the job, there have just been few experiences in my life when being around one gave me piece of mind, rather than taking it. As Bukowski once wrote (paraphrased by me as I'm not going to look up the passage) "It's not that I hate cops, I just feel better when they're not around."
Anyway I feel like a dislike and distrust for the police is somewhat part and parcel to urban bicycle culture. I am dismissive of a traffic system that was not created for me and in many ways makes my preferred mode of transport more cumbersome and handicapped than it should have to be. Using my own senses of common sense, respect for others, and the basic ability to judge the speed and trajectory of moving objects, rather than the stated traffic laws of this metropolis as my guidelines for conduct on the road has always been the truth for me. I believe my train of thought is shared by many of us riders and it puts us at long odds with the police as common sense can rarely be used as justification in a system which was created to take the place of personal judgement. Anyway it's an outlaw bunch that we be since we must operate under laws inadequate to deal with the needs of our form of locomotion, so after a while you just get used to an us vs them mentality with the authorities.
Now I am a reasonable person and I tend to believe that many accounts of police encounters with cyclists get way blown out of proportion in the art of a great story to spin over beers. I feel like many times the police officers get a bad rap because painting a police officer to look like the bad guy is the fun way to spin it and it plays well in our community. I have had many runs ins with the authorities and I find that they usually act in a reasonable way until you give them a reason not too. In short I am willing to believe that most authorities handle themselves in a responsible way. I don't feel naive and have no romantic notions about the nobility of their profession or anything like that. I hold them to the same standards as anyone else. The problem though is that when people in authority stop acting reasonable they can do alot more damage and get away with a lot more than Joe Average.
Case in point: The cyclist gets singled out seemingly randomly on a group ride, gets brutalized by an officer, and gets arrested for no reason that I can see reflected in the video. I feel so terrible for the cyclist who was arrested on multiple charges, including resisting arrest, and according to the officers account "swerved into the officer causing both to fall" (again paraphrasing), and have such contempt and disgust for the actions of the police officer that I find it difficult to express in words.
I am deeply saddened by this display of man's inhumanity to man, and sincerely hope that public outcry and disgust moves the police department of nyc to move swiftly and severely against the officer. As far as I know the officer has been taken off the street and put on desk duty, but the charges against the rider still stand.
I know that people have violently diverging opinions on critical mass and it's mission and impact. But I don't think there's anyone out there who could look me in the eye and say that the cyclist deserved that kind of brutality from the authorities. It was total and utter bullshit, and made me sick to my stomach.
Thanks again to everyone who came out, helped out, or showed up. It was amazing as always and it couldn't happen with out you. The third year was by far the biggest yet and I can't wait for year number four.
Sorry if I didn't have time to chat or exchange pleasantries with you. I tend to be very stressed out and lose my sense of humor around race time. I had a lot of shit to do and I didn't get to meet or spend time with everyone whom I had hoped to. But hey I'll see you next weekend at Southside Suicide and I'm sure I'll be in a much better mood. I love you all very much, and I was stoked to see the strength of the Minneapolis cycling community on display.
Here are the results to the best of my abilities:
Womens:
1 Jana 2 Steph 3 Rita 4 Kat 5 Cayla 6 Maria (these are the ladies with complete manifests) Masters: Jana Out of town: Misty, Winnipeg Time Trial: Erin W 9min 20 sec
I also want to give a shout out to Alicia who came in first 7 minutes ahead of Jana but answered one of the questions wrong. Alicia you put in an amazing effort and for what it's worth I'm very proud of you and you deserve to be recognized as one of the fastest ladies in town. Good fucking job. you rule.
Nice job ladies
Mens:
1 Brauer 2 Trevor 3 Benjammin 4 Jason P 5 Landon 6 Tim W 7 Martin 8 Bjorn 9 Phil 10 Curly Bro 11 Mitch O 12 Jon Z 13 Aaron H 14 Eric R 15 Pike 16 Timothy H 17 Anthony Kwan 18 Mark F 19 Micah 20 Matt S Masters: Martin Time Trial: Benjammin 7min 50 sec
I'll post tons of pics soon, including the headshots by Linda Sue Amundson
As promised here are the locations of the ten manned stops.
Grumpy's NE 2200 4th st NE Grumpy's Downtown 1111 Washington Ave S Matt's Bar 3500 Cedar Ave S Lake Harriet Roseway Rd/ E Lake Harriet Parkway Bryant Lake Bowl 810 W Lake st One on One Alley 117 Washington Ave S Rail Station Bar 3675 Minnehaha Ave Triple Rock 629 Cedar Ave S Sunrise Inn 4563 34th ave s Liqour Lyles 2021 Hennepin Ave S
You should keep in mind however that I still have some tricks up my sleeve.
Also I have decided to make a change in the prize categories:
Instead of first through third out of town. I will be giving away prizes to first mens and womens out of town. That means you now have a 1 in 8 shot of getting a Capricorn if you place.
these are the prize categories that would get your name into the Capricorn drawing 1-3 mens 1-3 womens 1st out of town mens 1st out of town womens
These do not: Masters (35+) mens Masters womens Time Trial Mens Time Trial Womens
See you guys there and remember that Bedlam will be serving food after the race.
This is roughly how the trackstand comp will be run:
The first call will be one hand off the bars (I don't care where you place it, just take it off the bars and the stem counts as bars) Second call will be one foot off the pedals/cranks (again don't care where you place it just get it off the bars, be creative and use your tires or whatever) Third call will be second hand off the bars
Fourth call will be everything back on. Fifth call will we butt off saddle Sixth call will be hands off bars
Something like that anyway. we'll see how drunk I am at that point and what I feel like yellin at ya. Just know that you better be able to go hands off with one foot on tire, and you better be able to stand up without hands on.
These hats were hand made for us by Grovecraft. They were printed by me before being stitched together, which was a welcome change. The prints are all super nice and consistent, which I find to be an impossible task with my other hats since printing on a non flat surface especially one that contains an elastic band is extremely difficult and frustrating. These were way faster and a much more pleasant experience for me. They are incredibly nice and worth every penny of the $28 price tag. Handprinted by me, handmade by Grovecraft. They will sell super quick so come and get em.
I have also been screenprinting up a fucking storm with the shirts and hats. I have tons of colored shirts, in pink, blue, purple, grey, tan, and green and hats in each of those colors as well. I am setting up a merchandise table at Bedlam and will have some stuff with me on Friday night as well and I encourage you to buy our shit as I will have more product than at any time before in our existence. Colored shirts will be $11, Colored hats will be $15.
I will also have last years and this years posters for sale. They will be $5 for the pair. It was one of the big disappointments for me last year that we sold so few of the posters. I really love the design and the more I see it the more I appreciate the detail and color choice. They are four color screenprint and were designed and printed by the famous Bjorn of Burlesque. He did a great job and they are simply kickass posters.
Pre Registration and the Friday night events will meet at 9pm on Friday night at One on One (117 N Washington) in the back alley.
Bring a bag full of beer. We will be hanging out there until everyone who has showed up registers for the race. You have to sign up for the race to take part in the Friday night events. We shall then depart for the Stone Arch Bridge.
In case of a cop bust at any point in the evening. The rendezvous point will be the One on One alley. Everyone split up, take off and meet up there. We will regroup and head out to finish the events.
The sprints will be longer this year, gear appropriately. Single Elimination Men's and Ladies tournament. Lose and you're done.
The Skids and Best trick will be judged by Myself, Andy (Summerinside) and Kevin from Justice Media. Our decisions are final. don't bitch.
The Distance skids will be a one shot affair. Every rider will get one chance and that's it. If there is lady interest we will have a women's category for both style and distance.
The Style Skids will be a ten minute free session. There will be a short warmup, then the clock starts and you have ten minutes to do as many runs as you like to impress the judges. only your best run will count.
Best Trick will be a fifteen minute free session and obviously the best trick as judged by the esteemed panel of judges will win the wheelset.
The Friday night events are being sponsored by Twin Six so expect lots of nice jerseys and such.
I am up late tonight putting the finishing touches on this year's manifest. here's what I can tell you. I have heard your cries and relented. It will be a gentler, kinder course than last year, however if you want to call yourself the All City Champ you are definitely going to have to earn it. I'm really stoked on the layout, it will force you into some of my favorite streets and traffic patterns in the city and is fast and flows well. If you attended the Spring Classics then some of this will seem familiar. (it pays to practice)
There are ten manned stops, which I will be posting up here on the blog at noon on raceday. One of those stops is the time trial around Lake Harriet There are unmanned stops as well, but you will have to wait for the manifest.
Please try to either pre register on Friday night or get there early on Saturday. It makes my job a lot easier if everyone gets through registration early so I can begin focusing on getting the race started on time. The sign up table will be in full swing by 4.
There will be a waiver to sign. Don't get cute with me or the volunteers and write in a nickname or "Haywood Jablomi" or anything else besides your legal name. This is not a joke to me or the sponsors, it is very important that the waivers are signed and valid. Unfortunately we live in a litigious society and I need to take these steps to protect my company and that of my sponsors who make this possible. Sign the waiver correctly. Don't be a douche.
Some things about the afterparty:
Bedlam will be serving food, so you'll be able to recuperate from the race and gather your metal for the night ahead.
I negotiated the best price I could for the drink specials and this is what we've got: $1 PBR twelve ouncers and $3 pints of Surly. Sorry it's not free but this is the best I could do for you.
If you couldn't make the race but come to the party you will have access to the beer specials.
And remember that the afterparty will be 18+ so that the young ones can join in the fun too.
Also last year's rain taught me a few things and I have contingency plans in place in case of terrible weather. So even if it's shitty out get your ass to the race.
I'll post some more info tomorrow. I can't believe the race is this week, I am preparing for what may likely be one of the greatest nights of my life. I suggest you do the same.
The green set are Velocity Hubs - Deep V's, black spokes and nipples. It was donated by V.S.'s and is the top prize for best trick fixed gear. And yes Vince is eligible to ride and I know he's been working on some new tricks. You kids better watch out. If he wins the event the wheels will become the Sprint prize.
The red hubs are Dimension's (absolutely the best value in track hubs going, they're awesome) laced to non machined fusions, with black spokes and red alloy nips. They look way nice and spin super smooth. Not sure yet who will win these beauties.
The silver hubs are Profile racing hubs. They come with standard (non-metric) hardware, which at first I thought was weird and really inconvenient, but in discussing it a friend pointed out that organized bike thieves (they do exist) know enough to carry metric hardware. They aren't expecting American hardware and thus these wheels might be harder to steal. It's a theory anyway.
The rims are the new ELVS reflective rims from Velocity, in a cars beams they light up like a Christmas tree and are both very cool and very expensive.
Those rims on those hubs=pimp as shit. The men's champ is taking those home.
My roomate and professional wheelbuilder (open for business) Matt built the green set and the others where handbuilt by Handspun wheels. Handspun also donated the spokes and nips for the wheelsets.
Chuck, the proprietor of Behind Bars, has a good sense of humor. To drive the point home he has donated this beauty the race. I couldn't be more thrilled to have the honor of bestowing this beast upon someone. I've been running hot laps around the house all afternoon, so believe me when I tell you that this thing packs more braap than you can believe.
Octopus Caps has just decided to join in sponsoring the race this year, their caps are wool, made of recycled fabric and are neat as shit. check them out at octopusincorporated.com
The event is open to all types of bicycles and all types of riders. Some will be racing for glory, while others cruise around and bar hop. This is one of the largest alleycats in the country and is always a real showcase of the Twin Cities cycling community. If you've ever wanted to experience urban bicycle culture, this is your chance. It is going to be ridiculous amounts of fun, and I'd love to see you all there.
The schedule of events looks like this:
Friday:
Meet up at One on One at 9pm Pre-Reg Style skids Distance skids Best trick fixed gear Best trick BMX (yep that's right we're having a BMX street comp as well) Match Sprints (a head to head tournament, lose and you're out. fastest man and women shall be cloaked in glory, I hear the robeast Trevor Crayton is planning on destroying all comers)
Saturday:
4-5 Sign up at One on One 5 Race 9 Race Cutoff, Finish at Bedlam Theatre 9:30 Bootleg Sessions Vol 2 premiere (freestyle fixed gear movie) 10:00 Awards ceremony 11:00 Trackstand 11:30 Sweet Sweet Bitches (fuck yeah) 2:00 Cold Hard Dash For Cash From Mike Brauer's @$$ (we're attaching a bag of money to a scantily clad Mike Brauer's backside and sending him off downtown, first one to take the money gets paid. That ought to empty out the bar in a hurry)
the entrance fee of $10 gets you into the events on Friday and Saturday, as well as (cheap or free PBR and Surly at the afterparty, we're not quite sure how the bar is going to run it yet, but you'll get your money's worth I can promise you that).
If you can't make the race but still want to come and hang out on Saturday, there will be a cover of $5 to get into the festivities and show (that $5 however does not get you any deals on beer)
July 14, 2008
saw this on the Bootlegsessions blog and stole it.
You'll notice a certain Robeast by the name of Crayton, sporting his custom Bike Jerks hat!
Included in this years race will be a time trial around Lake Harriet.
Starting at Roseway Road and Lake Harriet Parkway East, riders will check in, do one lap around the lake and check back in for the finishing time.
Minneapolis' own Sven will be running the show at the time trial. All racers who hope to compete for an overall placing must complete the time trial to receive their stamp for the stop, and the top time trial times for men and women will receive prizes and recognition at the awards.
Also I have decided to post the manned stops at 12:00 on this blog.
In the interest of growing the race and making it more friendly to out of towners, I feel that this is a necessary step. As it is just too much to ask someone who doesn't live here to come up with a competitive route in only 30 minutes.
But don't worry I will not give all the stops, just the manned ones (which is most) and I will certainly have a few tricks up my sleeve. This aint' gonna be no gimme.
And to all the whiners out there, quit asking me if it's really gonna be 40 miles. I already said it'll be shorter and more fun than last year. so stop being scared and start getting ready.
here is the first of three sets of prize wheels that we're having built for the race by our good friends at Handspun wheels. These babies are Surly flip flop hubs, built to pink Deep V's via double butted DT Swiss spokes and brass DT nipples. Radial front, three cross rear. Handbuilt in Minnesota
The good folks of Crumpler sent me a huge box and inside was way more schwag than I could have ever imagined or hoped for. Backpacks, messenger bags and forty accessory pouches.
The pouches will be doled out as primes at one of the race stops. woot woot.
I encourage all of you to take the time and realize that the people who sponsor these types of events do so because they actually care. These are the companies who care about what is happening here in Minneapolis, these are the people who understand what's going on in cities all over the country.
