a bike revolution?

i'm not sure what this means?

so i come across the b.i.k.e. movie, and i sit back and watch the trailer. then i hear a woman telling me that 'black label is not for strangers.' so why did you make a movie/documentary?

'the only real outlaw bicycle club.'

you want to live without a car? that's great. i'm happy for you. but don't force it on others. don't do violence against me, because i have/want to drive a car. that's just wrong.

you then become no better than the nazi's of world war two. an oppressor. you're using violence to get your point across. and what does government do to deal with violent behavior?

they makes laws against such behavior. restricting such behavior. then restricting my behavior. my behavior to ride a bike.

even to make it un-safe for me to ride. i am already aware of people in cars that don't 'trust' me, or even like me because i ride my bike on the road. so is that what i want...more pissed off drivers? no.

these pseudo-punks (that's right pseudo...punk is dead) think that violence is the way to get your point across. i have to ask...what's your point? it is not to 'live by the bike,' by any means. your point becomes violence for violence sake. there's talk about community. well, if anything you are creating a 'dis-community' by segregating yourself from others.

to be a community we need to live together. community.

is this just another way of disconformity, but yet at the same time to conform to something else? you just want to belong to something so bad, but you still want to be 'different', and then get pissed when people single you out? jackass.

get a clue. grow up. take responsibility for you actions. here's a concept...know yourself. understand who you are. have a sense of identity. or just be another sheep in another flock.

i hope this is not the way the bicycle revolution is going. i'd hate to hang up my wheels.

an eye for an eye; makes the world blind...

namaste...

so here we have...

gristle...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

the new gristle ninety-sixer. i thought about taking a nice 'basement' shot, but decided against that, and opted for more of an 'riding' shot.

below freezing today, so i figured that the ground would be frozen; thus safe to ride on. it was. see what logic is able to do.

quick run down of specs...
frame: custom moots ybb gristle w/ single speed slider drop outs
fork: fox f29
wheels: surly hubs laced to salsa rims
drivetrain: white industries double/double (free) surly dingle (fixed)
hope headset, and stem
salsa carbon bar with salsa lock-on grips.
old avid ultimate front brake lever
egg beater pedals.
the seatpost and saddle are not what is staying on there. i'm just waiting for the seatpost i want to come in.

i had them put on all the cable guides, for when i get old, and want things like gears or even a rear brake.

it rode pretty well at the local trail (i love saying that). i felt like i was 'fiddling' too much with the pedals though. so i'm going to play with those some, and get all that dialed in. the saddle isn't quite right, but that will work out once i put on there what is going on there. the gearing was too high, but i didn't want to change it in this weather, so i just left it and mashed through. and that's the other thing...i'm out of shape. but other than that...the ride was great. i can't wait to get it going in the proper gearing, and see what it is able to do. esp. fixed.

namaste...

all i am able to show in good conscious...

all i am able to show in good conscious...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

it is here. it is technically built up, and ridable, but i must hold off right now. for it to really be complete, i am waiting on a seatpost.

namaste...

quick winter loop...

mud and tracks...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

today down into the valley and the tow path. it rained pretty bad at the start of the week to the point the valley was pretty bad off. about three miles from here the roads were flooded, and you are able to see that from some of my other pics.

just this thick goopy mud covered parts of the trail; where there ought to be pavement.

mother nature is pretty awesome. we were lucky...we just got rain, and some snow. not as bad as they said it was going to be. but it wasn't too bad out, so i took a quick loop and came home.

namaste...

a philosophical question...

forty-four tooth crank...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

what makes your bike yours? or better yet...what makes your bike you?

there is a belief that the bike is just an extension of you, at least physically. this i can't argue. however, when/if the bike becomes an extension of your personality?

here i am making reference to my slider cross bike. why do i bring this up? well; when i was working at another bike shop, a friend of the owners came in and they started talking, and it came out that i rode there. the gentleman stated that 'this is your bike. isn't it?' and he pointed at the slider. i asked, 'how did you know?' he replied 'it just seems like your [(personality/style) paraphrased].' now how is the slider my personality?

i believe that there are key things with a bike that maybe only you know or have done, that does not necessarily effect the bike, but may affect you, in some way. my examples with the slider are the fact that i have carbon spacers. why? the frame set is steel. i'm not saving weight. other things that i have done/changed if not only for my eye...i have a king headset that is their rasta color set [the paint job is called rasta flame] to match the frame; well i changed the top cap color (which should be green) to blue. no reason. just something different to look at. i recently put on a dura-ace cable gear thing. you know...the little gear guide that the cable feeds through to tell you what gear that you are in, that all the hard-core roadies get rid of...yeah, i put one on. xtr rear del. when i was asked about that, my response was 'well, if xtr is able to take mtn biking, it can take a cross race.' meaning i'd rather have that level of reliability than something made for road riding. i have old school xt brakes. one inch headtube. one-zero-five brake/shifters. my cross wheelset is old school rolf vector pros. my bar end plugs have lights. an i.f. fork, which is white to off set the rasta flame paint job...also i'm not rasta, so why that paint job? i just saw it in the vicious paint list, and said 'hell ya.' so how does all of this 'explain my personality?'

is it the fact that all of this is non-conventional? and i didn't go out and say 'this' is what i'm going to do. i sat back and made choices that made sense to me. i know that there are 'better' parts out there, but i chose to go this route. i could have a sweet pair of zipp three-zero-three cross on here, but that wouldn't make sense to me.

so why bring all this up?

well, for a couple of reasons. one; i take what the gentleman said to be a huge compliment. because who else has ever heard that? sure, we've heard things like 'sweet bike', 'nice ride', and those types of things, but to say that a bike brings out who you are? second; the frameset is working on ten years old. it's steel. this is not going to last forever. what am i able to do next that will still bring out my personality? all parts are able to be transfered over, except headset; but what frameset would bring about the same affect? yes, affect.

i would stick with vicious; however, what about ti w/ painted panels? panels that are painted rasta flame? to keep the 'soul'.

these are the questions that plague my mind. even though i'm well steeped in philosophy, the big questions don't plague me as much. this is what plagues me. nice.

namaste...

mmmm...shiny...

double/double...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

here i am some more parts closer to the new singlespeed. this is white industries' double/double drive train. the crank is a thirty-five/thirty-eight tooth set up. then the freewheel is set up as sixteen/nineteen tooth. no more wondering what gear ratio that i need. too hard, simple switch. too easy, simple switch.

the freewheel is on the other side of the hub from last post.

i put the bottom bracket on order, and the stem. so the only thing that i will need will be the headset; which has been backordered for some time now, seatpost; which is also backordered till mid feb., and brake levers. oh, and the frame. it's the little things. the frame should be here early feb. no worries.

right now i'm also just putting more effort into the slider, since that will be my 'main' bike. i also put a w.i. singlespeed crank on it. that's a forty-four tooth. two more teeth than what i had on there. and i am also putting in a higher quality bottom bracket. because that will be the bike that will always be ready to go.

namaste....