Long Time No Blog

Hey all...

  So it's been a loooooong while since my last post.  There's been a lot that happened during the month of July that I was actually excited to see like Lance Armstrong placing 3rd in the Tour de France. Amazing!  Not too many people thought this "old guy" could do it, but he held his own on all the climbs, all the TTT's, and upheld his word by helping his teammate Contador.  

  I have mixed feelings about Contador....I thought he pulled kind of dick move during that one stage in the mountains where he totally bailed on Lance to get his time in the light.  But this is my favorite photo from the entire event:

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Look at Lance's face! Hella muggin'!  He's probably thinking, "Asshole, that should've been my number 8!"  Haha.  Oh well, however, we all have something to look forward to next year's Tour de France:

Awesome!

  Other great news that happened during the month of July is some news I heard about this new rim called the EERO by HPlusSon.  I've been thinking of building up a new back wheel for a while now and it's said that this rim is made to take more abuse than the regular Formation Face SL42.  However, I've been also seeing more B43's by Velocity on the streets these days. Those wheels look sick too! My buddy Ryan just put one of those on his Bareknuckle and it really opened the color scheme on his bike.  

However, one of the main reasons I've been on such a looong hiatus is because I've been working on my cycling hoody.  I feel that this design is pretty simplistic, fashionable, and very functional to the urban cyclist. Here is the only picture I have of it so far.  I will do a small photoshoot for it soon. Enjoy.

Will Armstrong Ride Strong?

  So tomorrow Lance Armstrong will be again mounting the saddle and partaking in the 2009 Tour de France.  This tour is the most grueling race every year and it seems immortal for one man to win this particular race seven times in a row.  By achieving this feat, Lance has launched himself as an icon in the cycling realm and world of sports.  In my opinion, what makes his numbers of wins even more astonishing is the mere fact that he is also a stage 4 cancer survivor.

  But being out of the circuit for so long people begin to wonder how he will do and if he has any gas left in his tank.  Another aspect is that he may not be the leading favorite on his team Astana to win the race.  Lance stated that he will back up Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer if they prove to be better riders than him.  However, I feel that Lance's desire to win it himself still resides within him and if given the chance he'll definitely pounce upon it.

  In 2005, Lance stated that there would not be a number 8, but no one really knows if that will ever be true.  It's interesting though, many greats across the world of sports that made their marks, retired, and suddenly, decided to come back somewhat tarnished their legacy in my opinion.  Look at Jordan, Favre, and now....Lance?  The world will see how this guy does this weekend, but I know I will be cheering him on.

photograph by: Guillame Horcajuelo/EPA

Wednesday Ride

  So these pictures are quite late because I was waaaaaay lagging, but last Wednesday a couple of my buddies from Levi's decided to get together and go on a ride that ended up being a ride throughout the city with a bunch of stops along the way. So it was me, my buddy Mike, and Kris.

WEDNESDAY RIDE!

....We first met up at the Civic Center and rode down Market Street toward the Embarcadero, but Mike wanted to check out the Chrome store to pick up a new hip pack.

Hello Kitty came too....

Ray from Chrome.

Mike (now equipped with his new Chrome hip pack) and Kris at the Embarcadero.

Mike's siiiiiick 3Rensho. muy expensive!

Obama!

So, while biking toward the water, Kris had the idea of stopping off at this bar in the Mission.  Totally the opposite direction!!! O well, it's called Zeitgeist and it has a beer garden and it's really bike friendly. Hella hip. However, upon our arrival the bartender was a total douche. We coined him as "Le Douche." hahahah.  So I hate riding with my wallet so of course I forgot to bring my ID.  Yeah, it was my fault for not having it, but he wouldn't even let me hang out in the EMPTY bar at noon when Kris was forced to chug her bloody mary. What an ass!  Anyway, here's some pics at Zeitgeist.

Mike's 3Rensho and Kris's Raleigh.

and my Kilo...

this is us parked outside of a local liquor store to get us some tall cans after me being the party pooper at Zeitgeist (thanks Le Douche!).

at The Park. Dolores....and enjoying some Tecate.

great view of the city....and got totally burnt!

Push Bike and Steeez Electrique Jeans

  My co-worker Mike Pablo works with me at Levi's in the factory.  He's an up and coming designer and my fellow fixie enthusiast.  Working in the factory has its perks like having access to the embroidery machine.  He has customized a lot of existing Levi's jeans by tapering them for avoiding hungry chains, a reinforced belt loop for carabiners, stylish embroideries, reflective bits, and extra pockets.  The prices right now range from $80 to $100 per pair depending on how much customization is on each pair of jeans.  He also, is willing to throw in a free hem for a more "custom" fit.  Pretty awesome!

  He is now selling out of Push Bike, which is a store in the Mission ran by a retired courier that offers cool-limited run items like hoodies, bags, and now....Steeez Electrique Jeans!  Check 'em out.

Velo Vogue

  MY BIKE WAS SPOTTED! Haha.  I guess someone had taken a couple of pictures of my bike probably after work at Levi's and locked up on Market St.  Pretty awesome.   Makes me feel good that people can admire all the time and money I put into it. :)  My co-worker Mike (who I will highlight more in the next post) told me that he saw it on this blog.  Velo Vogue just seems like photobucket filled with different tags related to cycling around SF.  Awesome.  Just glad to have made the list. 

My Beloved Helmet Finally Came

The post is a bit long overdue since I've been riding around town with my new helmet for about a week now but it has finally come!  It came all the way from England.  And no, I didn't buy the Whisper because 1) it's HELLA expensive and 2) my friend told it looks like a cheese-grater.  So I'm like "Great. Yeah, I don't need to have a cheese-grater on my head.  I still think the Whisper is a beautiful helmet, but I settled for the 2009 Kompact Pro, which is a more simplified version of the Whisper but with 21 air vents in comparison to the Whisper's 39.  Check it out:

Sleek.

Compact.

And looks sick from the back!

Totally sit well on my head...

....without bulging out too much from the side like the Atmos by Giro.  I hate that!

AIDS Lifecycle 2009

  Okay, so I don't know anyone who has AIDS or has died from AIDS personally, but I do know that this disease is something that we really need to find a cure for.  Anyway, the AIDS Lifecycle is going on as I type.  My friend Bryan Kim decided to try it on a whim by simply seeing the ad in restaurant while eating dinner one night.  I started bustin' up laughing when he told me why he decided to do the race.  Haha.

 Every participant in the race had to raise at least $3,000, which I believe went to AIDS research.  They all set off from the Cowpalace in SF and are riding 545 miles down to LA. CRRAAAZZY!  I hope he makes it in all one piece.  But I'm definitely rooting him on. 

Go Bryan GO!