The Radavist

One of the ways I spend my days as a recently-unemployed Architect is by going on road rides. For the first time in the 5+ years I’ve been in NYC, I’ll be able to race at Kissena, our local track. I’ve raced there before, but never for a season and this year, I’m more than stoked to have Milwaukee helping me out with a bike. Since there’s not a whole lot of time before the opening weekend, I’ve been trying to train as much as possible. This usually includes some warm up laps in Prospect Park and then some intervals in Central Park. These rides, even with music, can get monotonous.

Yesterday was the first morning that I did my Prospect Park laps with friends.

Check out more photos below.

To say this is long overdue is an understatement. Incase first sent me their Skate Messenger Bag back in May. Yes, May. I used it throughout most of the Summer months and still use it when I need to travel, carry home some loads from the office, or take bike parts to a shop. I guess that’s one of the good things about a delayed product review; it really lets you use the product for an extended period of time and allows you to really break it in.

To start off, this bag is filled with details designed around urban cyclists, commuters and couriers.There’s a 3M flap at the bottom of the main compartment flap and 3M accents around the stash pocket. The hardware is resilient and regardless to the abuse I’ve given it, has yet to snap or break. Like all of Incase’s products, the Skate Messenger Bag has small, subtle branding. No gaudy logos or graphics, just a sleekly-designed bag clad in a waterproof nylon shell.

Read the rest of the review below.

Photo by Bryan Vanarsdale

With all the theft that’s been going on, it’s good practice to sign your wheel’s rim tape, or even better, your rim. That way if it’s stolen, you can alert your local bike shops and in the highly likely event the thief or new owner of your stolen wheels brings them into a shop, you’ll get them back.

This very thing happened to Jesse Johnston recently. Head over to Bicycle Revolution’s blog for the full story!

Giant snakes devouring the Sun. How fucked would we be?

That’s the theme for the new Swallow the Sun album entitled, New Moon. Doom metal isn’t exactly supposed to be uplifting and inspiring and Swallow the Sun doesn’t let you down in that department. Released in November on Spinefarm records, New Moon brings new layers of melody to the Finnish band.

Memorial Bike Ride To Raise Funds For Alzheimer’s Association

Held in memory of Podium’s founding father, Winston Dunlap, Podium Distribution’s first annual Winston Ride will be held on Sunday, November 15th in Los Angeles’ South Bay. The event will consist of a series of three rides—a six, a fourteen, and a thirty five mile option to fit all rider levels. All proceeds generated form the ride will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Winston Dunlap lost his battle with Alzheimer’s last year, which prompted his son Brian Dunlap to create an event designed to build awareness around the debilitating and still incurable disease.

“We spent a huge part of our childhood racing and riding BMX which my dad was a huge supporter of,” says Podium VP Brian Dunlap. “I felt like creating a fun event that everyone can participate in would be a great way to honor my father’s life and help raise some funds for Alzheimer’s research.”

The Winston Ride will take place at Sangria on Hermosa Beach Pier at 9am on Sunday, November 15th.

Click Here to Register Now!

More information available at PedaltoPodium.com

Another Seattle event this weekend:

PJ works for Raleigh USA, and is a solid individual, so any help would be appreciated. He had brain surgery after a head injury last December. Somewhere along the line he lost his sense of smell and taste. It’s messed with his life in a major way. He rides with the Dead Baby Bike Club too.

More info can be found at Go Means Go.

Via Shorpy, these pictures are from January 29, 1921 in Washington, D.C. “Herbert Bell and Joe Garso.” were two one-legged cyclists who were most likely war vets (hence the missing legs) and took their love for cycling to a new height in the 1920’s.

Some of these moves look familar, others will remain lost in time for obvious reasons…

Tom and Tony’s silver-surfer move throwback style.

Is that a Gangsta Track fork? Burd, I think I found your long-lost uncle!

When I saw Book of Black Earth last month, TJ and I were talking about music when he let it slip that Fenriz was doing a mixtape for Actual Pain. Well, here it is and here’s a lil something from the man himself:

Fenriz, April 30th

“Every time I heard this “Total Eclipse” by Alan Parsons, I thought “I gotta use this in a mix, it’s got that perfect space Odyssey 2001 vibe, kinda like the long version of the intro to Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays”. It’s cold.

So I go from cold to beautiful but still lo fi sad/melancholic on the “Without Reason” track from Pegase. One of the best songs I heard last year. To tie it up to Christian Death, I needed a middle song, a bridge. and I found that in “Nowa Aleksandira” by Siekiera, like is it punk, is it new wave, is it goth…and the tempo works well with the previous Pegase track..and so comes the Romeo’s Distress, long time favourite of mine since I discovered it in the 80s, a DJ favourite of both me and Einar from INFERNÖ/BEYOND DAWN, VIRUS etc. The whole album is a scorcher.

Then since the tape should only be 30 minutes long, I needed a short link to something more metal, and after Christian Death I’d have to go with Septic Death or Rudimentary Peni, i thought. I got that rudi-track from a fellow music freak from Australia (hi Andrew) and that track is so instant. Before the behemoth of “Sight of the Wise” with Sacrilege. Everyone plays their 1st album, I usually go on about the 2nd one as the rifforama on it is priceless – it was hard to get into as a kid but that album is the gift that keeps on giving. I get totally lost in it. Then to just continue the WHAT IS IT style, i blast the first track of the Sindrome demo from 87/88, this was the vocalist of Chicago gods Devastation’s new band, and one of the most professional demos of the 80s. I’ve been playing it for 21 years straight!

So, as a weird break and link to both the eerie intro AND the organ on the before mentioned Sacrilege track, I shoot in one heavy psalm that a master DJ here in Oslo burnt me, totally obscure vinyl oldie… and it continues with the intro to the recently discovered “At the Mountains of Madness” by Blackfeather, thanks to Peter in Wolf 359 for showing me that shocker from 1971.

SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE, FENRIZ, APRIL 2009”

Download the mix here