New URL!

This week, I decided to finally breakdown and buy a domain. It was far easier than I anticipated and it should be all up and running now... So welcome to RidingAlong.com. Since I used the Google Go Daddy Blogspot services, the Anonymous Cyclist Blogspot link will always still work too, so nobody has got to change or update nothing!

*fist pump*

Weather Report; The Sky Is Crying

The Official Los Angeles Theme Song For January.

Pretty much anything I have to say about Southern California's weather is to be ignored. I moved here from Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the current weather is 15°F but really feels like 1°F. And I can't say for sure, but I bet there's like, 3 feet of snow on the ground.

So considering that a 50°F, rainy day is better than that, I didn't let it stop me from heading into downtown LA to bum around on my day off.

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AHTBM/Mission Workshop Contest

Bottled Water is Bad

Presented by Online Education

Review: Swrve Cotton Trousers

I <3 Swrve. I have been smitten with their clothes since I first saw them, and own a disproportionately small amount of their stuff compared to how much of it I'd like to own (you may recall a previous review of the sweatshirt I didn't take off for months).

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I headed down to their office/warehouse in downtown Los Angeles to pick up some pants and say hello, after getting my Polar watch battery replaced at the "authorized service center". Since then, I've been doing what I'd like to call some "extended product testing" on the Cotton Trouser, which most people would just call "wearing them every time you ride."

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Exorcised?

I think I may have solved the creak/tick...

It was the last thing I ever thought it'd be, obviously, since it was the last thing I did.

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First Impressions; Mission Workshop Vandal

I've had the pleasure of obtaining the brand new Mission Workshop Vandal backpack this week, and the first impression I have of this bag, is that it's impressive. Coming from the creators of Chrome, you'd expect it to be...

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Fwd: Wanted Assault Suspect Flier

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: IRIS SANTIN <31383@lapd.lacity.org>
Date: Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Wanted Assault Suspect Flier

LAPD Rampart Division is searching for a Sexual Assault suspect. The assault took place in the area of Belmont Ave and Bellevue Ave. The Victim is a teen aged girl that was picked up at Echo Park. If anyone is biking in the area, please keep the flier handy in case you see him, he may live in the area or frequent Echo Park.

Thanks,
Iris Santin
Senior Lead Officer (2SLO45)
Rampart Division
1401 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-793-0778
31383@lapd.lacity.org

Flyer converted to text below:

COMMUNITY ALERT
Notification
LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RAMPART CRIME ANALYSIS DETAIL
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

SEXUAL Assault

The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking information regarding an individual who is responsible for committing a sexual assault on a young female, in the area of Belmont Ave and Bellevue Ave.

Summary:

On December 25, 2009 between 1900-2000 hours, the teen-aged victim takes public transportation from North Hollywood to Echo Park area. She joins a group of strangers loitering near Echo Park. The victim drinks alcoholic beverages and becomes inebriated. Suspect separates the victim from the group and sexually assaults her.

Suspect Description:

Male, Hispanic, black hair, brown eyes, 6’0, 160-170, 18-20 yrs old. Wearing prescription eye glasses. Suspect wore a black hoodie with white striped sleeves and blue jeans. His lower lip is pierced on either his left or right side.



Anyone with information concerning this crime is asked to contact Detective J. Hurd, Rampart Division, Sexual Assault Unit at (213) 484-3624, during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, between 6:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.). During non-business hours, weekends or holidays, contact the Rampart Division Watch Commander at (213) 484-3050.

Whoops.

This guy played the I'm Gonna Honk At You A Bunch And Speed Around You Only To
End up At The Next Light With You game. So I retaliated with the You
Just Harassed Me But I'm Just Being Lawful So I'm Going To Snap A Pic Of
Your License Plate In Case I Need To Report You game.

I failed.

TAPpity TAP TAP

Two things bother me about riding the train. 

1. You need a paper ticker for each fare you purchase
2. Having to carry a token or exact change (or take out credit cards at shady dark stations with no security)

I thought about buying a pass, but I don't use it enough to make that worthwhile. And all my reading about the TAP told me that it was only a semi-permanent replacement for paper passes, and when trying to purchase online, your only option is monthly passes.

So I asked a customer at the shop when I saw hers, "Why don't they offer a TAP where you put money on, and it comes out each time you tap?" She's from Chicago, and we reminisce a moment about their real transit system, as opposed to LA's... and she tells me that drivers often say, if hers didn't validate on the first tap, "Maybe you don't have enough money on it?"

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Connected Tread Patterns Make A Smoother Ride.

It's a strange universe we live in, we bicycle people. Someone should make that Kevin Bacon game, only with the bicycle industry. I bet none of us are much more than six degrees from each other. On second thought, no one should make that game, it'd be boring.

However, you *should* check out the Oracle of Baseball, to link any two players in history together via teammates. As soon as I finish writing this, I'll be spending approximately 7.64 hours there.

It's been a weird week I've had.

I have been reading All Hail The Black Market. And I stress 'reading' which shouldn't be confused with 'understanding'. Sort of like Woody Harrelson 'listens' to Hendrix but doesn't 'hear' Hendrix.

COLNAGO CAP SIGHTING.

So, Stevil is a funny guy, who makes clever stickers and awesome looking caps, and you should all buy some of said items for three reasons:

1. If "Drink Beer, Ride Bikes, Go F**k Yourself" doesn't sum up life perfectly in 7 words or less, I don't know what does. (Likewise, if "Guns Don't Kill People, People With Moustaches Kill People" doesn't illicit a chuckle, then you don't know anyone with a moustache)
2. The cap is black with a rainbow stripe. EVERYONE looks better in black with a rainbow stripe. It's a scientific fact. Look it up.
3. His kitty just had surgery. Kitty Surgery is expensive. I know this may seem lame to any non-cat/dog owners, but as someone who has recently paid for Doggy Surgery, I can tell you that when the decision needed to be made, I'd have paid ANY amount for my Jack's health. He had KIDNEY STONES for Christ's sake (my dog, not Stevil's cat).

So, the point of mentioning that (aside from a quick sales pitch), is that he recently posted an interview with the man behind the Ritte Van Vlaanderen team, which amused me during my train ride earlier this week. This of course, lead me to the Ritte Racing site, where things began to look eerily familiar... it was ultimately the Smokers photo that made me realize, "I know some of these guys."

Sure enough, after checking the team, I used to work with one of them (who showed me that photo when we worked together, but before he was on the team), and built his bike from his previous team. A quick text sent off, and I learned that his Bosberg is expected in a couple weeks and I will most likely be building it for him. Not to mention he's going to try to hook me up with a shirt illustrating the finer points of urination whilst riding.

Excuse me for a second...

::excited bike mechanic fist pump::

Where was I? building ritte bike want a peeing shirt buy stevil's shit cat and dogs are awesome baseball no one was surprised mcguire jiuiced oh yeah, so I was also led back to Mission Workshop; via a little exchange on Twitter between them, Stevil and myself.

When I first saw them, I'll admit my reaction was that we didn't need another bag company. Chrome and Bailyworks and whoever else; they've got it, thanks. I watched their video, and I became intrigued, but found no usefulness for me. Then I found out who they really were (the founders of Chrome, or something like that) and when I looked this week, something had changed. I don't know if it was new text, new pictures, or what. Maybe it was an achier than normal left shoulder. Whatever it was, the Vandal looked hotter.

I can put my stinky shoes in that middle compartment. Backpack style sounds comfortable. Fiberglass internal frame with a suspended mesh backing (as opposed to Chrome's patented Sweaty Back™).

Yes please. (So that's on it's way too.)

I'm out of beer, so let's wrap this up. This weirdass week finds your hero with a new cap, a new bag, maybe a new shirt, plus I might get to build a kick ass team bike and I helped out some good solid bike folks. The moral of the story is: read All Hail The Black Market. It makes your life better.

PS- I swear, there's a review coming of the Swrve Trousers. I've been beating the shit out of them so I can really give you a review better than "They are pretty and make my ass look awesome." They are and they do.

PPS- There will be a review of the Vandal pack too, probably next month. I want to put a few hundred miles into it before I open my piehole.

I'm Sorry Allison...

I don't have it in me right now to rewrite something for this, but I think this needs to get out, so I'm basically reposting this email I got:

Hi there!

My name is Allison Mannos and work for the LA County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). We have a program, City of Lights that believes in the need for greater bike safety and advocacy outreach for Latino cyclists. Of course, Latino cyclists are one of the largest groups of cyclists, yet rarely are they included in the bike community, nor are their needs for safe riding education and safe streets addressed. We work specifically with day laborer cyclists in Pico-Union/Macarthur Park.  I wanted to share the bike parking community resource guide I created recently. Please feel free to share with Anonymous Cyclist readers and any other community orgs/advocates you think this might benefit.

We recently created a bike parking community resource guide we'd love for you to promote (it's attached); in it, all of the research the CoL team and I have done over the past few months on how to increase bike parking racks in a meaningful quantity, as a smaller campaign stepping stone for getting bigger infrastructure in the Macarthur Park/Pico-Union neighborhood. Our hopes are that other advocates and community groups in LA will read and spread the report, as a way of empowering themselves to "blanket" their own communities with large amounts of bike parking where it is lacking.

We have been working with Reyes' Office, in negotiation with LADOT Bikeways to drop about 35-40 new locations of bike parking racks in the Macarthur Park/Pico-Union neighborhood. LADOT has finally agreed to implement the large request after their backlog is done by end of winter/early spring this year. The locations will be posted on our blog once they're installed. While the info in the guide is public info, we (and surely others) have had difficulty in assembling it all together, as far as weighing our options and the process for picking and scouting locations with community volunteers, to installing the racks. Check our blog for more info on the process: http://ciudaddeluces.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/bike-parking-campaign-in-westlakepico-union/

I believe this guide will have an important impact on creating a more accessible, empowering way for the community to improve their neighborhoods and make them more livable, especially low-income neighborhoods that may have been left behind in the city's planning process. Oh, and we have plans to translate the guide into Spanish by the end of the month!

Thanks and keep up all your good work!

Allison

--

Urban Programs Coordinator

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

634 S. Spring St. Ste. #821

Los Angeles, CA 90014

213-629-2142

www.la-bike.org

City of Lights blog: http://ciudaddeluces.wordpress.com

Here's a link to Allison's guide.

I Own This

It's sort of awesome.

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I Think It's Haunted

I saw an episode of Clean House a while ago that featured a woman who was a housekeeper in her daily job, yet utter slob in her own home.

I thought, "Man, that's embarassing."

Yeah, but I'm a bicycle mechanic, and I ride a creaking ticking tocking mess that cannot be fixed nor ignored. I'm embarrassed, not that the multitude of random strangers I pass know that I'm a professional mechanic.

Just a weirdo with a loud bike.

Sometimes it's when I pedal. Then it's not. It's really a ticking, but it happens when a creak would. Seriously, I've done almost everything. I've pulled tightened rebuilt regreased replaced adjusted everything. Every time, I swear this next thing is it.

It has to be.

I rode it with new parts off other bikes. Just until I hear it AGAIN. I found out that I'm no longer a fan of Chris King headsets. I like 31.8 bars. Sometimes, I swear it's tick tocking words to taunt me...

fuck... 


off...

So tomorrow, I have a new bottom bracket coming. I swear, I never thought it was that. It wasn't a bottom bracket kinda noise. We'll see. If it's not the BB, then it's the cranks. If it's not the cranks, then my frame or fork are BROKEN.

It's that serious now.