I’m gonna make this a real quick one because my flight’s about to board. Yesterday in Dolores Park, I met Adam from Montano Velo, where he had his gorgeous 10th Anniversary Merckx road with him. This is a quick Merckx Mondays, but enjoy some more details below!
About a year ago, a man named Andrew Low came onto the track bike scene. Based in SF, Andrew builds handmade aluminum track frames in a small and tidy workshop in the Mission. San Francisco is widely responsible for the aluminum track bike hype and LOW has the made in the USA market cornered. When Massan caught wind of Andrew, he had to support a builder from his home town…
Just recently, Andrew completed a low pro model in a MUNI livery for Massan and I had the chance to photograph it in the Embarcadero on Saturday. With Massan’s recent induction into the Chrome Familia, this bike will be getting a lot of press-love, but for now, here’s my lens-love.
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Here’s the first few, of many to come from the 2012 Red Bull #RideNStyle weekend. Check out a few more below.
After the spills and thrills from the 2012 Red Bull RideNStyle track race, the fixed freestyle competitors were ready to rip apart the ramps and rightfully so. The sport has progressed by leaps and bounds in the past year. The tricks are getting bigger, more clicked and are looking more fluid than ever. The good riders really can flow through a park setup now and since people have been spending time at Woodward, a lot of the riders had a new found confidence on big ramps. I feel like I heard rumors for the past few weeks about Josh Boothby’s plans for a backflip and, as we all know, he followed through…
Boothby’s solid runs landed him in first place. Tyler Johnson’s big and smooth tech lines were more clicked than ever, landing him in second and Joe McKeag’s 540s, truck drivers and clicked 360’s pinned him down in third. Personally, I’m less interested in final rankings and more impressed at the overall caliber of riding that was present. Everyone gave it their all and no one was seriously hurt. But that helmet saved your ass Kenny!
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Today was my last full day in SF and I woke up to find my bike missing from the Messenger Mansion. I checked my phone to find a randsom from #FixieNinja, leading me to Bernal Heights. Crihs had been planning this “revenge” since I desecrated his bike last year, around this time. I got my bike, put the wheels back on and headed out for the day. After the Mash 1-Year Anniversary race (event coverage coming), we rolled to the park to soak in the sun. Nothing crazy, just a bit of people watching…
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Compared to last year’s event, the 2012 Red Bull RideNStyle race track was a huge improvement. The lanes were wider, racers were required to use some of the fixed freestyle course and with the addition of two banks on the staircase, people were encouraged to gap the channel. Much as I anticipated, the competition came down to four racers.
In the end, it came down to Addison Zawada, Hern and Walton. Three strong racers, all out for it and the crowd was into it.
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I just want to throw this up and congratulate these two athletes on their accomplishments today. Much, much more to come!
Last night, the Chrome party was shut down before it even began by over-zealous cops and the fire marshall. Not wanting to hang around while groups of cops showed up, we all left. I kept my camera around my neck as a mob of track bikes tore through the SF streets at night…
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It’s the last day before the #RideNStyle competition here in SF. I rolled out the the #fixiefamous crowd from the Mission, out to the Embarcadero to see the course and bumped into all the fixed freestyle guys. The following set is all over the place but there are some gems in there!
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There’s a lot more coming but I liked these two photos. Simon with the tuck no and Tyler hitting a footplant to bar. I had a lot of fun hanging out at the Island this afternoon and I can’t wait until tomorrow!
I’ve never seen a Red Bull MiniDrome in person before, so last night was a blast for me. The #RideNStyle MiniDrome Qualifier kicked off at 6pm and went on all night as people raced for their best times. Unsurprisingly, BMX and fixed freestyle racers held onto the best lap times but that didn’t stop people from trying their hardest on their track bikes. Racers from all over the world showed up, clipped in and tried to hold on… In the end, Addison Zawada sealed the deal yet again. 904 Fixed representing!
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Read this post in a groggy, hungover tone. Yesterday, I kicked around town before the Red Bull event started. TCB Courier now delivers wine, so I witnessed their Dominican delivering to some yuppies and then the rest of the day just flew by, leading into the RideNStyle kickoff. Check out more below.
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Today I went by to check out the progress on the Red Bull MiniDrome that’s being set up at Mezzanine for tonight’s qualifier. At 6:00 the MiniDrome opens to competitors, who’ll be racing for a spot to compete during Saturday’s Ride + Style main event. The crew was just putting the finishing touches on the ramp, so I shot a few photos.
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The legacy of the Messenger Mansion goes back over a decade. It used to be filled with SF graffiti heads and then over time, local couriers moved in. Now it’s more or less the TCB Courier HQ and I’m crashing here while I’m in town. Bike houses always make great subjects for photography and these photos were taken yesterday afternoon in the waining San Francisco sunlight.
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Yes, it’s that time again. Randomness from the streets of SF in preparation for the 2012 Red Bull RideNStyle. Today I met up with Crihs, Marc, Em and Chas over in the Mission and rolled over to Mash to see Mike and Walton. It was unbelievably warm out and for the first time, I finally had a track bike in San Francisco. It’s been fun so far and here’s a photo dump to hold you over for a bit!
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Today Crihs took the mighty 12″ Keirin bike for a spin down 14th street. Here he is, concentrating before his descent. More to come…
Speaking of kits, Chari’s new Classic jersey and shorts look great. Hey Ktel!
Now that’s a club kit. I hear those new Geekhouse cross bikes are gonna be pretty slick too.
