Data from the north.

I pulled this off the 10-9 day website, to share with you here.

Some data those crazy canucks gathered. Appears they don't have much to do.

It also says this is based on 20,000 miles, which in my rough estimating, could be two to two and a half years of working.

NYC Messenger Video

I just watched this, and thought it had some interesting aspects. I recommend you watch it too.

It brings to light how little information is actually collected on messengers (bike), and brings into question (once again, but better this time) whether or not the internet has actually affected messenger populations.

Look at these .........

I have been very , very busy here in town, and not updating my posts.

This having been said, and obvious, we can move on.

The word is that Brady was sighted in Northern California, outside of Eureka. Not by anyone we know, but by random people in towns. I heard Fox was there, and was told that Brady had already ridden through.

So, instead of being lost in some manner like was thought, he has been ahead of the PDX to SF NACCC Ride Out 2007.
This is one of the scenario's I had thought of, in regards to what had happened to Brady. They say one the first night, he rolled 20 miles farther than everyone else, and camped alone. Then was never caught up to again.

We had a great weekend on the Mt. Friday night in Hood River at Mace's house, then the ride out to Lolo Pass, on the west side.

Once again, I was driving the sag wagon, not being allowed to ride much yet. I had great timing, coming up on them at the steepest part of the climb, again with cold beers. we hung out for a few minutes, the decided to meet at the top of Lolo Pass, which is actually on the shoulder of Cathedral Ridge.

This would have been a very nice area to relax for a while, before the ten mile downhill to Welche's and Mace's cabin, our final destination.

I drove on ahead, and there was a sign that said "Road Closed". So, of course I drove up the road, to see what was going on.

A large landslide was blocking it, something the Audi would not be crossing today. After taking a few pics, I drove back down the hill to show them what was ahead. It would be possible for them to carry their bikes over it and continue on, but I was going to have to find another way.

I went down the hill aways to road 1810, and turned to cross the river. Up and over the hill I would go to the other side of Lolo Pass. it is after all a German car basically designed to go right where I was, so why not?

Right near the top of the fireroad, there was another landslide. Though much smaller, it would take a lifted truck to make it, so I turned around again.

Down to the main road, which was nothing more than barely one lane. I drove lower, and up the next road, #16.
All the way across a lower shoulder of Mt. Hood, and over to cross the Hood River at Parkdale. I actually had to drive under a couple of trees, one of which was barely high enough, as I could have grabbed it through the sunroof.

It was a long little road, and took me directly to the footings of the bridge. I say the footings, because it was all that was left of the bridge. having been foiled for the third time, i was not giving up, and turned right down a firelane that ran along the river. the gate was open at my end, but after 20 minutes, I came across a locked one, right before another bridge across the river.

Even though I had a better map, I just contined using this lackluster one they gave me at a gas station. I turned right off the river road, and into the hills, using the reference of the hill I had already crossed to the left, i wound my way across on a selection of dirt roads. After about an hour used up to cross back over to the original one lane Lolo Pass road, I hit the pedal to the metal as it may be, and found the Hood River Highway.

I got back to the cabin a full two hours after they did on their bike ride.

Oh Where Oh Where Has Our Brady Gone...

So, it has been 5 days since the NACCC crew rolled out of Rickreall... and no one has heard from Brady...

Not his family... Not any of us here..... Not anyone on the road he was supposed to be riding with.......

So, the big question is "Where is Brady?"

I am quite certain he is rolling along, on the way to San Francisco somewhere.....

I have decided to display some of my favorite Brady pics, to refresh your memory of what he loooks like...

Sharky leaves tommorrow on his track bike... Some sort of rescue reconnasince misson, or not.........

Fixed Geared, Grass Flat Track Series Week 2 is in the bag...

Wed night we met up at 7 PM at Amnesia on N. Mississippi, for Chevil's Grass Flat Track Racing. We had some beer's there, and waited to group and move out to tonight's secret location, the school just on the other side of the Going gorge.

This turns out to be right next to the first place I was shot at.... Didn't used to be a neighborhood you just hung out in...

We set up some sticks with cups on them, (as it turns out, the flat track series is already devolving more than it is evolving,)
And Dan did some yelling... he had goood reaspn to yell, 'cause we had racing to do.





I think Slackjaw was jealous that Dan got to yell so much, cause he started yelling some on his own......

The racing was great fun. We ran the same miss and outs, and figure eights, closing it up tighter to get more interaction in the criss cross.

We also ran a relay of sorts, and a race that was explained while I was peeing, so I have no idea what that was about....

John, who rides for Tonic, and some of Chevil's other buddies came out, with the rest of the usual suspects.



We had a Dure Ace track wheel break a spoke on the line, and the wheel was just all over the place bent.... Chevil rode over the top of a crashed rider in front of him. I could see him pull forward trying to push it over, but he got hooked on the handlebars.....

Todd rode his beautiful Vanilla track bike, and crashed it a number of times, once sideways into another bike...

Slackjaw did a header at the start of a race, going straight over the handlebars like a sack of flour....

Check the PUMA website, portlandmessenger.org for the meeting place of the next racing night in this exciting series....

Fixed Flat Track Series Tonight!

Tonight is the night.
Stop 2 of Chevil's Fixed Gear, Grass Flat Track Series...

If two weeks ago was any sort of indication, tonight should prove to be fun, fast, and furious. Tight turns on tiny tires, Fixed Gear Mt. Bikes, crashes, and victories.

Leave your brakes at home, or disable 'em when you show up at Amnesia, on N. Mississippi, at 7PM.......

Let's get this going on......




I had some complaints about my lack of pics from Rickreall.

If only Tiah would return my camera......

Rickreal Closed.... A special report from behind the lines...

Having been pre-wounded, I was the one and only candidate for driving the sag wagon on the way to Ryan's farm, the site of the 2007 Rickreall Closed...

I belive after the Coast ride incident of '04, and proven once again at another favored party, it appears the start of a lot of trouble comes in cars....

Slimming things down to those who ride there seems to be the perfect solution to this problem....

We met up at the Mill Street House at the stroke of ten......

Now to some, this means 12:30, as Lucky Pierre and Jen didn't even make it for the start of the ride out. Fox pulled up right before the leman's start was nixxed. So it would be a average ride out after all.

The dog and I went home to relax. I watched some european cycling, Tour de Italia. Did some laundry, fixed some stuff around the house.

I guess Ryan had said something about calling me when he had a corn dog, in Newberg.

I didn't recall this information, but randomly called him at one point in the early afternoon. He said I had to hold on, cause he was ordering a ............ corn dog.

Now, My timing had started out jut right, and was on the road to perfection with this happening.
What were the chances that I would call him right at the moment he was ordering a corn dog.

So, I took a shower, lollygagged a while, and drove the Audi down I-5, towards Gervais, where I would meet the at the Wheatland Ferry.

I pulled in, called them, to fid they were only 2 miles down the road. Personal Record. My timing was on the money, and the beers, Henry's, were ice cold in the trunk...

I was quite jealous not to have been able to ride down with them, but I will have many chances to ride around this summer.

We had to hang out for quite a while, waiting for everyone to group up. Lucky and Jen never made it to the Ferry while we were there.

Mason wanted to do backwards circles on the moving fairy deck, but the ever vigilant ferry workers shut him down.

I rolled on out, and took the fun route, Orchard Height's road, to the farm. It is a driver's road, and the Audi still seems to be running pretty strong. Up and over the hills west of Salem, and to the farm, where I started a fire, found some Ritz crackers to snack on... and waited...

I cracked a beer from the trunk.... And waited some more.

Fire is going great. Where is evrybody? Beer's gone. So I crack another one. tastes good and even colder than before.

I stake out a chair by the trunk, in the front yard, waiting, reading "Into the Wild". While looking into it, I realized there was only one beer left, and a store run would need to be made.

This meant the first one to Rickreal was the only one to get a cold beer.

And strangely, that person was Brett.

I half expected it to be R. Kelly, but, no dice.....

Brett enjoyed the frosty beverage, it was only mere moments from being on the bike to it being in his hand.........

People started rolling in, and the evelry continued. Fox drove for food, as I was tuckered out, and trying to help Brady build his bike, moments before riding to San Francisco........





Much food eating and beer drinking occured, and the whiskey of course came out. I know I was up until around 3 AM, and didn't really sleep until it was light out.....

Quite a few people stumbling around in the morning. I got sick near the orchard, then started making corned beef hash for breakfast. it was my first time making it from scratch, I think I did a good job.

The long haulers got ready to leave for the NACCC's in San Fran. We said our good byes, and abot half the Portlander's going home also got on their bikes. Chakra had a rental car, and showed up right before we left, to carry some gear.

I was glad to be home, but didn't get to nap due to mother's day proceeding's.... it was very fun though, and I slept very well later...

Fox Thursday,

Thursday evening, in May. Let's just go ahead and say the 10th.

My foot is up on a pillow, it is sunny outside, and I am bored.....Horribly.

I have a corkboard here by my computer. Flyer's, spoke cards, old events, new events......sticker's, you know, I keep everything......

In the middle of this chaos, about a foot to the right of my head, was a flyer for the "Fox Thursday" race, a self proclaimed test of brawn, brains, and mad skillz........Starting at 6:30.

It is 5:35, so I wrap up my foot and head out the door. It is downhill pretty much from my house to Backspace, where the race is starting, so I ride my oldest road bike.

I had spent the afternoon cleaning the drivetrain. It was ridden mainly uncleaned, for the last 10 years or more (not by me).... A little scrubbing and it ran like new, so I was buzzing along with my foot in the boot (stupid air cast thing...).

Down Vancouver Avenue into town. Over to Backspace, where groups of youngsters sat around, a couple I knew. People quickly started coming out of the woodwork, and Fox showed up, and registered the 20 racers.







Permission slips were verified, and a note from your mom truned out to be good enough for entry, "cause after a hectic explanation of rules, and how to dcifer Fox's crazy manifest system, they were off.

It was Jerry's birthday, so he got a flat before he even got out of the parking lot. Chaz took out another wheel a block down the street with his pedal. This left 18 racers, and us at Backspace waiting.


I heard a sticker was hidden under the Hawthorne bridge, where a two bike , head on colission between two pretendenger's was witnessed.

After there and two more stops, they came back to Backspace to play a video game for three minutes. Then off to Front Avenue under the broadway bridge, where I heard they were going to be doing some stairclimbing.

Someone, Chaz, put duct tape over one of the clues, resulting in a volley of phone calls to Fox, and Chaz possibly hiding inan alley in SE....


There was a stop at Col. Summer's park, where a mirriad of events went on... There was play the random guy at basketball, either one on one or a game of PIG.
I heard you had to track stand in front of this cute girl reading a book and hit on her at the same time (this stop was organized by two ladies by the way), and I heard the girl got up and left...kinda sad...

There was frisbee, and something involving inflatable whales, which I would really rather not hear about.

Gideon was ousted from his stop by the cops for drinking beer, so he left a note and went to the end of the race, which was Fox's house.

I rolled over to the end, since it was mere blocks from my house, and waited.

And waited. Then waited some more.

Before the first person showed up......... It was Anne, but she hadn't done enough of the bonuses to take out Gary and his friend, who worked together to take frst and second place. i got her name wrong but close last night, and I will get it wrong again, so I am not going to try. it starts with an A though....

We had made it a rule that if you didn't put your name on your manifest, I got their points.....And Gary did not put his name on his manifest.........

I gave him a hard time about it for a while, but, after all he did win it, so I reversed it, and he picked a Bike Coozy hand knitted by Maggie.

I know that Chaz, and Nerf did well too, probably third and fourth. Everyone got a prize, and I even got a tshirt.

There were belts made from tires, I think Adam from Transerv made them.. Dvd's, socks, (Sox on Fox) And a hip bag made by Lucky......

I was out too late, smelled like smoke, and took a long shower when I got home..........

Tommorrow it is off to Rickreal for the NACCC Ride Out.... I can't ride, so I am the only one driving down... Should be fun, and make for some interesting pics....