August 27, 2008

Girl Bike

This bike is awesome!
I looked at this and imagined Erik with a lonely tear rolling down his cheek because he didnt' think of a happy anime face disc wheel first.

Stolen Bike Alert



Bike Jerks ally Johnny Sunshine's bicycle was stolen along with his wife's from 24th St. and 5th Ave S.

In his own words "This is a big bummer mostly because my wife finally had a bike that she was in love with and was commuting to work on."

Find them, Return them. Destroy Bike Thieves.

Hers:
Surly 1x1
Black
14" Frame
Ritchey flat bar, stem and seat post
Avid BB7 disc brakes
Truvativ Stylo Gigapipe crank set
WTB saddle, Speed V
Front Wheel:
Hutchinson Python tire
XT hub
Mustang disc tubeless rim
Rear Wheel:
Continental tire
Surly hub
WTB rim


His:
Surly Karate Monkey
Black
16" Frame
DT Swiss 240 hubs
DT Swiss 7.1 rims
Cromoto stems
Motoace bell lap bars(wrapped in red tape)
Sachs Ergo Power 8 speed levers
Avid BB7 disc brakes
XTR 952 rear derailleur
XTR 970 from derailleur
XTR 900 crank set
2 chain rings
XTR 959 pedals
Selle Italia SLR white saddle
Thanks,
Johnny
(612)245-4095

August 25, 2008

Tricks And Drinks Tuesday Night

The revitalized T and D takes place this Tuesday at 10:00pm at the All-City spot at 4th and 6th ave in the warehouse district.
come out, have fun, learn new tricks and meet new folks

Toronto Bike Thief

In a Cyclist-Friendly City, a Black Hole for Bikes
By IAN AUSTEN

TORONTO — What exactly was he planning to do with 2,865 bicycles?

That is just one of many questions the police and others have been puzzling over since the arrest last month of Igor Kenk, the owner of a used-bike shop here.

Mr. Kenk's legacy now fills a former police garage with a leaky roof. Organized by brand name and mostly resting on their handlebars, wheels pointed upward, are 2,396 of the bicycles that police say Mr. Kenk either stole or arranged to have stolen.

The jumbled collection of bicycles suggests that Mr. Kenk is the unofficial world champion of bicycle thieves. But as he awaits trial next month on 58 charges related to theft and drug possession, the biggest mysteries of all are Mr. Kenk's motives and his ultimate plan for the armada of steel, rubber and aluminum he amassed.

"He's easily the most hated man in Toronto," said Alex Jansen, a filmmaker who has been working on a documentary about Mr. Kenk for more than a year as part of a study of his rundown neighborhood's transition to hipsterdom. "But I just found that it's not as black and white as I originally thought."

Mr. Kenk was something of an informal social worker, Mr. Jansen explained, giving work to street people and outpatients from a nearby mental health institution. Of course, the police say some of that work involved stealing bicycles.

The arrest has provoked an outpouring of anger and publicity in a city renowned as one of the most bicycle-friendly places in the world. About 15,000 hopeful cyclists, some teary-eyed, have scoured the Kenk collection in search of their missing bicycles. But only 469 bicycles had been returned as of Thursday morning, when 17 more days of public viewings began.

The public reaction "was staggering," said Ruth White, the superintendent of 14 Division, the police unit that made the arrest. "I've never seen anything like it in 30 years."

Oddly enough, the police and many bicyclists were aware that Mr. Kenk's little shop, the Bicycle Clinic, appeared to be a black hole that consumed stolen bicycles. Bike theft victims regularly discovered their missing bicycles there, and were often able to recover them, either through vigorous argument or a payment of $30 or $40.

While he had been arrested once before, Mr. Kenk was acquitted because prosecutors could not prove that he knew that the bicycles in his possession had been stolen. After that, the police lost interest in pursuing him, and many in the neighborhood came to tolerate or avoid him and his shop.

"It had become the culture in his neighborhood to visit Igor to get your bike; people accepted it," Ms. White said.

The only reason Mr. Kenk was arrested was that bicycle thefts rose sharply in June, prompting 14 Division to start a general effort to trap the thieves by planting bicycles on the streets and waiting to see who took them.

As plainclothes officers watched on the afternoon of July 16, Mr. Kenk and another man passed the bait with no display of interest. But Mr. Kenk soon directed his companion, who has a history of mental illness, to cut the locks on two other bicycles — not ones planted by the police — and they then rode off on them.

"It was God's way of saying, 'It's time to put a stop to this,' " said Inspector Bryce Evans of 14 Division.

When the police subsequently raided the Bicycle Clinic, the Fire Department at first blocked them from entering for safety reasons. The building was so crammed with bicycles and bike parts that a Fire Department rescue squad had to remove the upper-floor windows and lower the bicycles by rope.

That was just the beginning. An additional 200 bikes were seized in Mr. Kenk's home. Ten landlords around the city reported that their garages had been rented by Mr. Kenk and were bulging with bicycles. As the police gathered the mounds of bikes, they also found cocaine, crack cocaine, about 15 pounds of marijuana and a stolen bronze sculpture of a centaur and a snake in battle.

Ms. White is among those baffled by it all, though she noted, "He made a lot of money off it, judging by where he was living." While his shop was a shambles, Mr. Kenk shared a rented house in Yorkville, a fashionable and expensive neighborhood, with his partner, Jeanie Chung.

An accomplished pianist, Ms. Chung, who also faces charges for drugs and possession of stolen goods, turned herself in after returning from two performances in Banff, Alberta. (Ms. Chung's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.)

Since Mr. Kenk's arrest, theories about his hoarding have proliferated. Because Mr. Kenk held a scrap metal dealer's license, Inspector Evans speculates that he was playing the commodities markets, waiting for another spike in metals prices before melting down the bicycles.

In the past, Mr. Kenk has said that he was accumulating bicycles in preparation for a severe oil shortage. But in a somewhat disjointed interview in July for a radio documentary, portions of which were published by The Globe and Mail, a Toronto daily newspaper, Mr. Kenk portrayed himself as a crusader against theft and a protector of cast-off bicycles.

Mr. Kenk holds a passport from Slovenia and has claimed he was a police officer and a former K.G.B. agent. He has shed little light since his arrest. After one court session, he told reporters, "I'm a dead man."

In a brief interview, Mr. Kenk's lawyer, Lon G. Rose, declined to elaborate or offer any information about Mr. Kenk's past, before saying: "The public reaction is a bit extreme and knee jerk."

Mr. Jansen, the filmmaker, and others found Mr. Kenk to be a charismatic, if sometimes misguided, neighborhood philosopher. Mr. Jansen, who lives near the shop, said Mr. Kenk was a link to an era before street signs in the once-rundown area declared it to be the Art and Design District.

"You just get pulled completely in when you start talking to him," Mr. Jansen said. "With the changing neighborhood, I knew that it would culminate in Igor being pushed out. I'm just shocked at the number of bikes and storage facilities, and the quantity of drugs is just ridiculous."

There is no discernible pattern to the bicycles in the Kenk collection, which includes several children's bicycle trailers and at least one toddler-size tricycle. But not everything is old, incomplete or damaged. Along two walls of the garage are dozens of packing cases filled with a product that is either appropriate or preposterous, given the circumstances: new bicycle locks.

August 21, 2008

Clockwork!

The Robeast Trevor Crayton (All City sprint champ, and second place overall in the main race) rode his new Clockwork in today. It's freaking gorgeous and has a hint of red in the clearcoat of the white paint, which is a detail lacking in the photos. Since I took the photos he has replaced the red tires with bronze GP4000's that match the leather very nicely. Check out the stitched on bartape which is the perfect finishing touch.





For those of you who don't know Clockwork's are built by Joel in South Minneapolis, who shows once more that not only do we have a sick alleycat scene, but that we are also home to a group of very talented builders.

Brooklyn Machine Works

The Gangsta I ordered showed up today with a surprise on the box
I'll post pics of the build once I get my setup dialed in. I rode it tonight and it was very weird and different.

August 20, 2008

Way to go DOT

maybe try moving it a little to the left

Big Ray

This photo was taken during a shoot for Banjo Brothers, in the infamous One on One back alley. It is one of the nicest photos I've ever taken, and I am hoping that you will like it as well.

cheers

A.C.


you wish you could

August 19, 2008

Peacock Groove and Babes in Bikeland

Erik Noren (he's like the jerky brother I never wanted) framebuilder extraordinaire has graciously agreed to provide Babes in Bikeland, an all girl alleycat coming up on September 27th (details at www.mplsdoesbike.com) with a custom Peacock Groove frameset to give away.

Erik honed his skills at the local legend Croll, before opening up Peacock Groove five years ago. He builds some of the sickest, most creative bikes anywhere and is renowned for his full custom work. Anything goes at PG.

The race will likely be the largest all female alleycat in the country and now has a top prize that will undoubtedly draw racers from all over.

Check out this picture of Mr. CutiePants and know that he will be ready.
Bow down to the Groove!



Props to Erik, for supporting Minneapolis' bicycle culture. I hope you all out there think about where you're bike comes from and decided to buy from local craftsman, especially the ones who constantly support the community: namely Peacock Groove and my man Brad at Capricorn.
They actually care about you.

August 15, 2008

Galactic Mystery Solvers...

Digging through some old files I unearthed some Galactic Mystery Solvers... designs that B.Ridget did in 2005 at the very beginning of this rollercoaster known as Bike Jerks. Galactic Mystery Solvers..., or GMS, was the name of my first little company. The name was taken from the episode of the Simpsons where Springfield hires Frank Gehry to build an operahouse, which later becomes a prison. Homer is a prison snitch and in the shower he spies a "GMS" tattoo on Drederick Tatum. According to Drederick "Galacatic Myster Solvers, my childhood gang. The only mystery we couldn't solve was how not to grow up."
I thought the name GMS would be the perfect name for a bike shop, a bike brand or just about anything. I still do and sometimes dream of opening my own shop under that banner. I later felt though that ripping off the Simpsons wasn't the best way to name my company and that I would be much better off with an original name which turned out to be BikeJerks, which like many dumb ideas came from a bad in joke at the bike shop I was working in at the time.

So anyway I was digging through these old files and have decided to revamp a few of them for release as limited edition shirts which will be available soon. These shirts will not say GMS on them but rather will carry the Bike Jerks marque. I do plan on reviving the GMS marque one of these days, as my garage business, matt's wheel business, or maybe a bike gang. we'll see.

here's an example of one of B.Ridges' design that we are not bringing back, but that I still love for it's ridiculousness.

Viva GMS!!

August 13, 2008

B.Ridget's new Colnago

Recently B.Ridge decided that she needed a new bike and being something of an aesthete, she set her mind on the storied Colnago mark.
After a bit of searching and some help from a friend (thanks Seve) this lovely little number was procured.


It's a 1999 Colnago Masterlight in team Rabobank colors. The photo doesn't do it justice, it's freaking stunning.
We are planning a geared build with traditional drop bars. We are both very excited about the new addition and I am a bit jealous as she now has arguably the nicest bike in the family.

I'll post pics of the build when it's done.

August 11, 2008

Connor's last T and D

It's Connor's last Tricks and Drinks before he heads off to Grand Rapids to get educated. We will be riding tonight. I would say likely at the All City trick spot and other locations around the downtown. Be there to send the kid off in style.

August 10, 2008

All City Portraits are up!!!


Link Here

The Photographer Linda Sue Amundson's lovely photos are available for purchase if you'd like to own any of these.

Big thanks Linda, the photos are amazing. She even made Zito look good!
Here's pricing if anyone wants prints:

8 wallets - $5.00
4x5 or 4x6 - $1.50 each
5x7s - $3.00 each
8x10s protective lustre spray - $6.00 each or $12.00 mounted
11x14 protective lustre sprayed and mounted - $25 each

To order email Linda Sue at lindasue.lp@gmail.com.

August 9, 2008

Death Race Recap

The Lake Street Death Race took place yesterday. we had four helmet cams in action one on Landon, one on Landon's Bro, I had one on the front and one facing rear. Haven't gotten a chance to look at any of the footage yet but I'm optimistic that there's some good stuff.

So here's how the race went down from my perspective:

All day I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt incredibly guilty for encouraging anyone to participate in such a dangerous race. Honestly I was scared. This race was a very unsafe proposition.

I rounded up some helmet cams at work, met Kevin (Bike Jerks official video guy and tech guru) before the race to sort them out and we were off to the library for the start around 6:10.

Twelve racers signed up, including one recumbent and we packed the curb at Lake and Hen waiting for a red light, once the light turned all the racers lined up in the crosswalk across the whole breadth or Lake Street facing East. On the green we were off and I got off to a slow start but soon found myself third from the front, within a few more blocks it was Landon, Graff (skinny kid on a Surly and a Bike Jerks hat), and myself at the front. I was starting to worry that I wouldn't be able to shake Landon, and it would end in sprint for the line. Graff didn't worry me as the kid is new to alleycats and I figured he couldn't hang with the big boys.

Just out of uptown and in the lead I managed to squeeze through a changing light right before the crossing cars started zipping through the intersection and when I looked back the only rider with me was Graff. I kicked it down and prepared to lose the kid, but he hung tight the whole way through South Minnie. At one point we even snuck between two parked cop cars who were almost completely blocking the East going lane.

Looking back Graff had started to yo yo a bit and was no longer on my side the whole time. I sensed that he was hurting as much as I was, and believe me I was hurting the whole way. This race was a fucking sprint and my old lungs and tired legs were not exactly thrilled with this endeavor.
So he was about 10 to 20 yards back when we hit a mild hill a few blocks before you get to Hiawatha. As soon as I saw the hill I decided I was going to break my chaser, I got out of the saddle and launched a sprint up and over the hill. He wasn't able to follow my move and the next time I was able to look back I put about a block on him.

I knew that if I got through the Hiawatha intersection clean I was golden, and my roomate Matt was even there with a PBR in hand to cheer me on. A police car was waiting for the light under Hiawatha and I wasn't sure how to handle it, but 20 yards from the intersection it went green and I flew by the parked cruiser. I was pretty confident the race was won but I continued full on for the last section to the river, not wanting to be done in by hubris. By the time I reached Jay I had about four blocks on Graff, and I was excited to have made some beer money for the weekend.

it was an awesome race and I want to send my respect to Graff for the strong second place showing, expect more from this kid in the future. And thanks for representing in your bike jerks gear.

I think the whole race only took about 9 or 10 minutes and the video should be coming soon.
Watch for it.

August 7, 2008

shrimp on scooter

Boomin System




check out the film Made in Queens

I fully support this movement.

August 5, 2008

Lake Street Death Race 8/8

Lake Street Death Race!!! Be at the Walker Library (Lagoon and Hennepin) at precisely 6:35 PM. Entry is $5. Winner takes all.

It's a straight shot from Uptown to St. Paul via Lake Street.

I plan on racing and filming via helmet cam for a Bike Jerks video or possible Bicycle Film Fest entry for next year. I'd really like to see some Minneapolis representation at the festival and this race fits the bill. It's a perfect race to film as all the riders will likely be somewhat bunched and there are no turns. There is also likely going to be lots of starts and stops which always makes for good video as other racers fly by and vice versa.

Here's what I need:

If you have a helmet cam, show up wearing it. If you don't, borrow one. The more cameras the more likely we are of getting some real quality footage.

Show the fuck up and race, the more people riding the better. Obviously I encourage everyone to ride within their limits and not risk their lives for this stupid shit but the more people riding the likelihood of catching something special increases.

You show up and race, I'll do my best to make you famous.

Deal?

Also for those of you who missed Southside Suicide last weekend, it was a blast. Thanks again to Leif for putting it on.
I successfully defended my title and pushed my unbeaten streak in drinking races to three. Woot!

Riding Tonight

If any of you out there are reading this and wondering what's going on with Tricks and Drinks. Some of us will be out around 10pm at the spot in the warehouse district where the All City shenanigans were held.

come on out.

August 3, 2008

All-City Results expanded

I had some requests to dig a little deeper into the results so here they are:

Womens:

1 Jana 2 Steph 3 Rita 4 Kat 5 Cayla 6 Maria (these are the ladies with complete manifests)
Masters: Jana


Time Trial: Erin W 9min 20 sec, Rita 9 22, Susan 9 35, Cayla 9 50


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, 21 Nick W, 22 Arthur, 23 Tim Harincar, 24 Ramon, 25 Stephen G 26 Jake Elmquist, 27 Jake, 28 Joe Berens, 29 Andrew Bender-Dahl, 30 Jeremy W, 31 Keith T, 32 Mike Holsky, 33 Nathan W, 34 Noel C, 35 Brandon Bass, 36 Tim Roach, 37 Peter A, 38 David Corgan, 39 Mikolai A

Masters: Martin

Time Trial: 1 Benjammin 7min 50 sec, 2 Jason P 8 00, 3 Trevor 8 05, 4 Brauer 8 11, 5 Pike 8 12, 6 Matt S 8 18, 7 Nick W 8 20, 7 Martin 8 20, 9 Curly 8 30, 10 Mark Burns 8 38, 11 Dan H 8 50, 12 Timothy 8 55, 13 Peter Akimoto 9 09, 14 Mark F 9 10, 15 Chris T 9 15, 16 JPS 9 17, 17 Evan Burke 9 17, 18 Landon 9 20, 19 Joel E 9 20

When Cyclocross is outlawed only outlaws will Cyclocross


Word on the street is that the city is turning down several peoples permits for cross races in the city parks this year, so we're taking it underground. Keep your ears open for free illegal cross racing coming this September.

No UCI fees, no bullshit, just down and dirty racing in the mud and as always you can ride whatever you want but singles and fixies are preferred. I'd really love to see a fixed gear cross scene emerge.

In preparation I made some changes to my winter commuter, and she's looking tough and mean and oh so classic Minnesotan.

I've got my horse ready, you better go and saddle up.

August 1, 2008

Police Community Response to Cyclist Assault

Here's the link to a police officer forum where they are discussing the incident
it ain't pretty


In other news I was pulled over this morning on Xerxes near the Southdale Mall. Busted for running a red. I slowed down and checked for traffic and deeming it safe I proceeded through. I explained this to the officer along with "I'm running late for work" and guess what? no ticket for me this time. They ain't all bad.