Tom La Marche for Specialized from Uncle Buck on Vimeo.
Tom. La. Marche. Booyah.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Tommy Gun
I haven't been keeping up with fixed freestyle all that much recently, so it's weird that as soon as I get bored and check on it, I find this amazing video that was released a mere four days ago.
Tom. La. Marche. Booyah.
Tom. La. Marche. Booyah.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Memphis Polo Vid
Early this summer, Jason Sheesley got some game footage and interviews together to make a little polo intro. To my knowledge, this hasn't really been posted up anywhere so I thought, what the hell:
I managed to avoid getting interviewed, but he still managed to catch a few fleeting shots of me in action. Check out the sweet exposed lower back action!
In fact, if you look a little closer...
A tramp-stamp is born...
I managed to avoid getting interviewed, but he still managed to catch a few fleeting shots of me in action. Check out the sweet exposed lower back action!
In fact, if you look a little closer...
A tramp-stamp is born...
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Long Overdue Chrome Kursk Review
As frequent readers might remember, last year, to kick off Chrome's entry into the shoe market, they gave away a free pair of their shoes to anyone that sent in their old shoes. Sweet deal. Well, after a year and change of wearing 'em on and off, I think I can finally make some kind of judgement on 'em.
Da shoes. And a mallet. For context?
As you can see, they've held together pretty well. I've definitely never had any shoes that didn't rip or lose their tread after around six months of abuse, much less a year and a half. I do have my gripes, however.
One of the laces broke pretty quickly - not a huge deal, but still, not fun. Laces, of course, are easily replaced, but these have little metal dealios on the ends so they don't fray. Eh, one step forward, one step back.
Also, right out of the box, the right insole felt like it had a crack running through it. A little weird, but not uncomfortable. Just a factory defect that got by somewhere. Pretty sure I could have gotten them switched out, but seeing as they were free to begin with, I didn't wanna bother.
Last kvetch: The shoes themselves are made of cordura, not canvas, which means they're pretty tough - hence the no tearing part. However, my tender-footed self finds the heel especially to be a bit TOO stiff. I haven't suffered any blisters, but it feels like the heel of the shoe is digging into my heels and ankles. I can't say this for sure, but I feel like they were partly to blame for a strained ankle - with my regular shoes, I feel like I can sorta roll my foot with a fall (which may cause its own problems, but still). With the Kursks, my foot plants, causing the ankle to bend along a very defined line. At one point, after wiping due to a pedal strike, it felt like the shoe almost SLICED into my tendons - it felt like something in my foot was popped outta place by the shoe itself. If the shoe had just a touch more give, I feel like I coulda avoided the injury. Orrrrrr, I probably should have just worked on NOT FALLING and stop blaming a shoe for my own ineptitude.
Now for the good stuff. Like I said, the shoe is VERY sturdy and tough. Some of the rubber on the sides has kinda peeled away, but the shoe itself is standin' up to whatever I throw at it, which is one reason it's become my shoe of choice for mountain biking. Another reason is the little elastic strap to hold your laces in so they don't get caught up in your drive-train. And of course they look pretty cool, although, as with Converses, when I look down I sometimes feel like I'm wearing clown shoes.
Finally, the sole of these shoes is pretty great:
It's nice and thick enough to dampen vibrations from hitting a billion roots at Stanky without feeling like there's a million miles between your foot and the pedal. Plus it's red, which looks especially cool on a bike.
Cut to the chase: These shoes are pretty dang nice. I would definitely consider paying the full 70 bucks for 'em once my first pair wears out, but only if I happened to have a bit more moola than I usually have. Great splurge, but far from an essential.
Da shoes. And a mallet. For context?
As you can see, they've held together pretty well. I've definitely never had any shoes that didn't rip or lose their tread after around six months of abuse, much less a year and a half. I do have my gripes, however.
One of the laces broke pretty quickly - not a huge deal, but still, not fun. Laces, of course, are easily replaced, but these have little metal dealios on the ends so they don't fray. Eh, one step forward, one step back.
Also, right out of the box, the right insole felt like it had a crack running through it. A little weird, but not uncomfortable. Just a factory defect that got by somewhere. Pretty sure I could have gotten them switched out, but seeing as they were free to begin with, I didn't wanna bother.
Last kvetch: The shoes themselves are made of cordura, not canvas, which means they're pretty tough - hence the no tearing part. However, my tender-footed self finds the heel especially to be a bit TOO stiff. I haven't suffered any blisters, but it feels like the heel of the shoe is digging into my heels and ankles. I can't say this for sure, but I feel like they were partly to blame for a strained ankle - with my regular shoes, I feel like I can sorta roll my foot with a fall (which may cause its own problems, but still). With the Kursks, my foot plants, causing the ankle to bend along a very defined line. At one point, after wiping due to a pedal strike, it felt like the shoe almost SLICED into my tendons - it felt like something in my foot was popped outta place by the shoe itself. If the shoe had just a touch more give, I feel like I coulda avoided the injury. Orrrrrr, I probably should have just worked on NOT FALLING and stop blaming a shoe for my own ineptitude.
Now for the good stuff. Like I said, the shoe is VERY sturdy and tough. Some of the rubber on the sides has kinda peeled away, but the shoe itself is standin' up to whatever I throw at it, which is one reason it's become my shoe of choice for mountain biking. Another reason is the little elastic strap to hold your laces in so they don't get caught up in your drive-train. And of course they look pretty cool, although, as with Converses, when I look down I sometimes feel like I'm wearing clown shoes.
Finally, the sole of these shoes is pretty great:
It's nice and thick enough to dampen vibrations from hitting a billion roots at Stanky without feeling like there's a million miles between your foot and the pedal. Plus it's red, which looks especially cool on a bike.
Cut to the chase: These shoes are pretty dang nice. I would definitely consider paying the full 70 bucks for 'em once my first pair wears out, but only if I happened to have a bit more moola than I usually have. Great splurge, but far from an essential.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Cycle Memphis 4.0
So, the latest Cycle Memphis ride went off without a hitch last Saturday - unless you count Jason hypnotizing Rem with phat beats so that he crashed into the boom-box trailer.
That sentence makes sense, I swear.
Anyways, the ride was pretty much how it always is: critical mass without calling it that. The pace was...We'll say...leisurely. Twelve miles per hour is leisurely, right? Little less turnout than usual, but there was alotta bike stuff goin' on that day already, plus the little cold snap. Kermit did manage to grab a few videos of Cara doin' what she does best: ridin' fakie, tire slides, rollouts. She makes it look so smooth! Check it out:
Butterrrrr.
That sentence makes sense, I swear.
Anyways, the ride was pretty much how it always is: critical mass without calling it that. The pace was...We'll say...leisurely. Twelve miles per hour is leisurely, right? Little less turnout than usual, but there was alotta bike stuff goin' on that day already, plus the little cold snap. Kermit did manage to grab a few videos of Cara doin' what she does best: ridin' fakie, tire slides, rollouts. She makes it look so smooth! Check it out:
Butterrrrr.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Chuckles McGee
This was posted up on facebook, but as not everyone is hip to the facespace/isn't friends with Rem (of memfixed fame no less), I thought I'd post it up here too:
Video by Rem
Featured is Memphis fixed rider Charles Fox on his Volume Thrasher, badass in his own right. Definitely at the forefront of Memphis FGFS, especially as far as hops/balls are concerned. If anybody in Memphis has the skillz to progress to the stuff some of the other big fixed riders are doing right now, I think it's him.
Video by Rem
Featured is Memphis fixed rider Charles Fox on his Volume Thrasher, badass in his own right. Definitely at the forefront of Memphis FGFS, especially as far as hops/balls are concerned. If anybody in Memphis has the skillz to progress to the stuff some of the other big fixed riders are doing right now, I think it's him.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Where's yo' head at?
Well, summer's winding down and I feel like it's time this thing had a purpose - other than the reading list on the sidebar.
There's a butt-ton (button?) of stuff to slowly sort out and post, but I'll start with the thing that's really started to grow on me the past coupla months: mountain biking.
Pictured: a butt-ton button.
About a year ago, I bought a Surly 1x1 from a friend of mine on the cheap with the intention of giving polo on a freewheel a serious try. It definitely seems to be the way most of the rest of the sport has headed and I wanted to see if there was a reason for it. Well, whether I just didn't give it a long enough try, or had just progressed too far fixed to turn back and try something new, or maybe even just wanted the extra cool points, I didn't end up liking the experience and ended up with (yet another) extra bike.
The 1x1, which I have dubbed "Hot Pants" due to the flamin' saddle it came with.
I took it on the Wolf River Trails a coupla times and had fun, but it really hasn't been until the past few months that I've waded waist-deep into it. After thinking I was hot shit on the WRT doing a coupla blue trail laps at mach 5, I finally got up the nerve to go to Stanky Creek with Kermit. Naturally he pushed the shit out of me (almost literally, as I overheated a little over halfway in and had to fight back puking), but it was still amazingly fun - albeit humbling. I've got a pretty long way to go before I can consider myself a decent rider, but every time I go I shave off a few minutes. Course, based on my most recent times, I'd still be competing for third-to-last place in category 3, but if I keep improving at the same rate I am right now (yeah right), I'll have first place on lock in...about three months?
Anyways, it's exhilarating as hell and very different from any other type of cycling I've ever done. If you're one of those road-only, commute/group ride/polo kinda people like I was, you should at least give it a try. Not to oversell it, but IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIIIIIIIND.
There's a butt-ton (button?) of stuff to slowly sort out and post, but I'll start with the thing that's really started to grow on me the past coupla months: mountain biking.
Pictured: a butt-ton button.
About a year ago, I bought a Surly 1x1 from a friend of mine on the cheap with the intention of giving polo on a freewheel a serious try. It definitely seems to be the way most of the rest of the sport has headed and I wanted to see if there was a reason for it. Well, whether I just didn't give it a long enough try, or had just progressed too far fixed to turn back and try something new, or maybe even just wanted the extra cool points, I didn't end up liking the experience and ended up with (yet another) extra bike.
The 1x1, which I have dubbed "Hot Pants" due to the flamin' saddle it came with.
I took it on the Wolf River Trails a coupla times and had fun, but it really hasn't been until the past few months that I've waded waist-deep into it. After thinking I was hot shit on the WRT doing a coupla blue trail laps at mach 5, I finally got up the nerve to go to Stanky Creek with Kermit. Naturally he pushed the shit out of me (almost literally, as I overheated a little over halfway in and had to fight back puking), but it was still amazingly fun - albeit humbling. I've got a pretty long way to go before I can consider myself a decent rider, but every time I go I shave off a few minutes. Course, based on my most recent times, I'd still be competing for third-to-last place in category 3, but if I keep improving at the same rate I am right now (yeah right), I'll have first place on lock in...about three months?
Anyways, it's exhilarating as hell and very different from any other type of cycling I've ever done. If you're one of those road-only, commute/group ride/polo kinda people like I was, you should at least give it a try. Not to oversell it, but IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIIIIIIIND.
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