Rockwell Relay Check-In
Moab, Ut, 13 June 2014 – checking in the the Rockwell Relay. First to check in. Better early than with the crowds.
Rockwell Relay Bound
Green River, UT, 12 June 2014 – on the road to the Rockwell Relay from Moab to St. George, Utah. Everyone in the car is pondering their assigned legs; each about 50 miles in three legs for four riders on 535 miles of southern Utah roads.
David is Specialized – Fixie Pride
8 June 2014, Salt Lake City, UT – This is our good friend David and his Specialized single speed (fixie) enjoying the Utah Pride 2014 parade. We love the smooth shave on those legs and the rainbow bright shoes, David.
Fixie Porn at Utah Pride
Salt Lake City, UT, 8 June 2014 – Everybody loves a little porn at pride.
Rockwell Relay
Rockwell Relay image from http://rockwellrelay.com/moab-st-george/
24 April 2014, Salt Lake City, UT – Yet another Notified Body audit at work ends relatively successfully for the company that gives me money for things I do for them so I can buy bicycle gear. I have been remiss in my posting lately because we have been tearing out our old kitchen to redo the floors of our home, traveling to Boston for spring break, and catching some head cold or virus that knocked me down. I rode today for the first time since Sunday. This year has been one of the worst for miles ridden since I started riding a road bike four years ago.
The latest exercise theories say a rider should train hard and rest harder. I’m hoping this is what’s happening to me lately since today Greg and I signed up with a team to do the Rockwell Relay, a 527 mile relay race from Moab to St. George, Utah, in June. Aside from training for the MS 150 rides which I’ve done for three year’s straight, this will be the longest ride of my relatively short cycling career. The ride is broken into twelve approximately 50-mile segments with each 4-man team riding three legs. Each leg has its challenges.
Although I have not been on the bike much lately I noticed today on my short ride that muscle memory is set and I was riding at a good clip for most of the evening. I’ll keep you posted on my training progress.
Making New Friends at NAHBS
NAHBS Charlotte Photo Studio Crew
©Weldon Weaver
23 March 2014, Charlotte, NC – NAHBS is certainly the place to experience the most stunning custom and handmade bicycle innovations you’re not likely to see at your local bike shop. And it’s a great place to meet some of the giants of the industry like Tom Ritchey and Chris King who manned their booths during the recent show in Charlotte.
Photo Studio NAHBS Charlotte
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
But the handmade bicycle business is about more than just the bikes. The annual NAHBS show recently ended its tenth edition gathering custom bike aficionados from across the globe for three days of bicycle bling. As much as each of the builders at the show is an artist with a unique and different perspective on bicycle building aesthetic they are also very much alike. If you took a moment to pause on the show floor this past week you would have hear the unmistakable clamor of community.
Calfee Anodized Cassette
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
Although the bikes are the main focus of the show something more important happens in this tight knit community of artisans; new friendships are made and old friendships are rekindled both on the show floor and at the parties after day’s end.
Shamrock Cycles Disc Cross Bike
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
NAHBS sponsors team up to put on some of the best parties in town during the show weekend. This year’s NAHBS fell on Saint Patrick’s day weekend, a fitting backdrop to Shamrock Cycles green clover-draped cross disc show bike, in Charlotte where the worlds largest pub crawl highlights the Luck o’ the Irish festivities.
Shamrock Cycles Disc Cross Bike
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
And not far from the uptown Charlotte St. Patty’s crowds NAHBS attendees put on a hoedown of their own sponsored by Oskar Blues Brewery and a local fiddle band.
NAHBS Charlotte Hoedown
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
This year Greg ran the photo studio where a show bike was set up and photographed every six minutes. This is a daunting task for the best photographers but with the help of an army of dedicated volunteers the bikes were photographed and sent back to their booths unscathed in record time. Seasoned bicycle race Photographer Weldon Weaver worked closely with his volunteer crew to create the official photoset of award entries.
Weldon Weaver at Work
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
If you love bicycles and are even remotely interested having a chance to be around some of the best custom bicycle handwork in the world we encourage you to head Louisville in 2015. If you go, remember to take a moment to meet the builders as well as ogle their bikes. You’ll quickly learn this is a gathering of artists and a community of people who’ve come together for ten straight years to share their visions. In the end NAHBS is as much about the people and having fun as it is about bicycle innovation.
NAHBS Charlotte Photo Studio Crew
©Weldon Weaver
Its a place where friendship and community come together to share bicycle dreams.
A Small World
18 March 2014, Salt Lake City, UT – Home for two days and recovering from NAHBS. We enjoyed living a different life for a week and we are grateful to our NAHBS family for their hospitality but it’s nice to be home.
A crazy week of bikes and people. Said hello to Mike DeSalvo though I didn’t photograph his latest bikes. I have one and can tell you the guy knows how to work metal.
We took a ton of images that we’ll post once we get back into the groove. Until then the picture here is the tear down and load out of NAHBS Charlotte.
And finally to illustrate how small the world is we made a surreal connection when we stopped at the local supermarket on the way home to restock the fridge. Looking like two feral cats, she asked us how our day was going. We told her we just landed from Charlotte and were exhausted after the world’s biggest pub crawl. She said the next time we go we should stop into Connolly’s Bar because her grandfather was the proprietor years ago…
Saint Patty’s Day Charlotte.
St. Patty’s Day Celebration
The World’s Largest Pub Crawl – Charlotte
©2014 OneOffTwoWheels.com
15 March 2014, Charlotte, NC – NAHBS Charlotte is partying it up at the worlds largest pub crawl tonight for a bit of Irish fun as day two of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show moved from the the convention center floor to the pubs for a welcome bit of Irish cheer.
Fried Catfish, Black-eye Peas and Collard Greens @ Merts.
©2014 OneOffTwoWheels.com
First stop was Mert’s Heart and Soul food on College Street for a plate of deep fried catfish, collard greens and black-eye peas. Sufficiently satiated and hydrated we moved the party to Connolly’s Irish Pub where nobody seemed to care what our names were; this isn’t Boston after all. And the bartender didn’t bother with our ID’s because we really do look older than most of the crowd.
St. Patty’s Day Celebration at Connolly’s Irish Pub Charlotte
©2014 OneOffTwoWheels.com
The streets and the pubs were overflowing with people of all ages celebrating Patrick’s special day. But since we have another day of bike show to attend to our evening ended earlier than most partiers’ will. And we’ll most likely not wake up with a hangover which will be a welcome treat after this morning’s head pounding start. St. Patty’s day is a perfect backdrop for the special bond the builders and attendees of NAHBS have forged over ten years of handmade bicycle show history and there’s no where we’d rather be than Charlotte.
St. Patty’s Day Celebration at Connolly’s Irish Pub Charlotte
©2014 OneOffTwoWheels.com
Mavic – The French Chefs of Bicycle Components
Mountain bike wheel: Crossmax Enduro
NABS Charlotte
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
16 March 2014, Charlotte, NC – Just as a Michelin three-star French chef would never allow an imperfect plate to leave his kitchen, Mavic, the storied French bicycle component manufacturer, releases no new product lines before perfection is achieved. According to the Mavic representatives at NAHBS Charlotte the company is not interested in being first to market when new product trends appear, rather they want to bring the product to market when their version is perfected. This is the company’s mantra today although Mavic has many firsts in its long history including the1999 debut of the first wireless electronic shifting group. Mavic’s recent work focused on improving the braking track of their elite level carbon road wheels to improve braking and temperature modulation.
Road & triathlon wheel: Cosmic Carbone Ultimate
NABS Charlotte
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
We asked about the trend toward road disc brakes, a technology that seemed to step back here at NAHBS after SRAM’s recent hydraulic brake recall, an early stumble that we’ve predicted will move the technology of hydraulic bicycle braking systems forward in the long run. Mavic told us they were waiting for the market to settle but disc brake wheels from France are soon to be a reality. And like dining guests at a Michelin-starred French restaurant we are waiting patiently for perfection to be served.
Road & triathlon wheel: Cosmic Carbone Ultimate
NABS Charlotte
©OneOffTwoWheels.com
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