Look Mum No Hands

Cities like London seem to have it all—races, rides, people, and of course cool bicycle-themed establishments.

Take Look Mum No Hands, for example, a bicycle bar and café with a real live bike shop. They offer repair classes, show movies, serve food and drink, and host art openings.

Check out www.lookmumnohands.com

Cyclist Down: In Honor of Scott Spitz

Keep regular contributor Scott Spitz in your thoughts today and throughout the coming weeks, as later today he is going in for surgery on a rare thoracic cancer just diagnosed earlier this month. I first met Scott through his long defunct bike zine Leapfrog, and then in person on my doorstep a good decade ago when he came through Pittsburgh for a few days and needed a place to stay. It’s been all good ever since, and in the past year his voice has become a vital part of the Urban Velo web presence. I know few people so devoted to their own health and fitness — it’s quite striking that of all the people I know killing themselves with vice (perhaps myself included) that Scott is the guy to come down with such a serious illness. Fellow Indianapolis cyclist Bill Watts put down his thoughts about Scott and his contributions to the cycling community published at www.indycog.org,

The cycling and running communities in Indianapolis suffered a punch to the gut earlier this month when Scott Spitz let it be known that he has stomach cancer. I should say at the outset that, while I have long admired Scott, I don’t know him well, and I haven’t seen him in several years. Nevertheless, I think of him as one of the pioneers of bicycle advocacy in Indianapolis during the late nineties and early aughts. I used to run into him on Critical Mass rides, Bike-to-Work days, and other events to promote cycling in Indianapolis. For a time, Scott was the only bicycle messenger in the city.
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We are the freaks, the ones who go against deep-seated notions about how one should move around in the world, and we are the ones who suffer from the aggression of motorists and the neglect of city planners who, over many years, have made too few provisions for transportation that does not depend on the internal combustion engine. Cycling is a place where an aged English professor and a tattooed anarchist can find common ground. And, for our own good, we need to hang together.

As Scott discovered his cancer in early April, he began writing more and more Facebook postings and blog entries about his experiences. While his accounts have been honest and detailed, he has never indulged in self pity, nor has he asked for pity from his readers. Like Christopher Hitchens, one of his intellectual heroes, Scott does not ask, “Why me?” Instead, he asks, “Why not me?” And one thing I especially admire in Scot’s postings is his awareness of the hardships others face in navigating our deeply unjust medical care system. While Scott acknowledges that he will have financial difficulties coping with his medical expenses and his lack of income during recovery, he also shows a deep awareness of the difficulties of those who lack insurance and must cope with medical emergencies with even fewer resources than he has.
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One of the great things about cycling is its strong sense of community. If we see a fellow cyclist down, we ask, “You okay?” If the answer is “no,” or seems like it might be “no,” then we stop and do what we can to help. I hope that cyclists and runners in Indianapolis will stop to help Scott. He is an ornery guy, and prides himself on his self-reliance, but these will be financially difficult times for him. I hope that a good number of people will send some money his way. It is an easy thing to do via PayPal; just send a donation to Scott’s email address, urbanwings@hotmail.com.

Read the entire piece at www.indycog.org.

Afghan Women’s National Cycling Team

This article from the New York Times highlights Shannon Galipin’s efforts to outfit the Afghan Women’s National Cycling team with needed apparel and accessories, something lacking for women in Afghanistan where riding a bike is seen as something of a moral crime.

In the hierarchy of cultural offenses committed by women, it ranks somewhere between driving a car and so-called moral crimes, which include running away from home or being spotted in the company of a man who is not a relative.

The team currently trains in long pants and full sleeves, but companies like Giro, among others, are helping set them them up properly and Galpin will be heading over with a film crew to drop off the supplies and make a short documentary of their efforts.

Galpin formed the organization Mountain2Mountain to aid women in conflict-ridden areas, and this work with the national cycling team is the latest of her efforts. More than just establishing a national team, the Afghan women view their cycling as an effort to break the social taboos that keep them on unequal terms.

Despite having received death threats, many of the female cyclists are eager to speak publicly about the team, Galpin said.

“They’re no different than women in Afghanistan who risk their lives to attend school or run for Parliament,” she said. “They know the only way to challenge and break the taboo is for other women to see them riding bikes.”

Read the full New York Times article here.

Further. Faster. Forever.

Through the weirdness that is Instagram, I recently came into contact with Aaron Edge, co-founder of Further Faster Forever, an organization dedicated to “Inspiring & Encouraging Athletes Everywhere”. Soon after I friended Aaron (IG: Man_of_Multnomah) I discovered we have a lot in common, from our involvement with the vegan straight edge music scene, to our running and cycling pursuits, to our interests in graphic design and, most notably, our recent diagnoses of life-altering diseases.

Upon diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, Aaron underwent a period of grieving and depression that began to drown the life he previously knew, but since then has rebounded to become another force of inspiration for athletes everywhere. Previously confined to a bed for over a month due to the pain of his MS, he has been slowly getting stronger and is now back out running and riding again.

Friend and photographer, Brenton Salo, recently did a photo shoot with Aaron, highlighting his story and getting shots of him out attacking the Portland hills. The full blog post and photo shoot can be seen here.

To help Aaron with his mounting and continuous medical bills, go here to order shirts.

Breaking Away Masi

We first posted images of this film used Masi from Breaking Away back when I shot it while on display at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show a couple of months ago. At the show it was stated to be one of three Masi’s used in the film, and one of two in the collection of Chris Brown, a friend of the screenwriter. I’ve since received more information on it and the other bikes in the film from Tom Schwoegler, the film’s technical advisor and bicycle mechanic.

“At the conclusion of the film one of the two Masi’s that were purchased was given to Steve Tesich (the screenwriter) and the other returned with the production company in Los Angeles. This 2nd bike was purchased by Dennis Christopher and can be seen in the October 12/19, 2012 copy of Entertainment Weekly. There was a spare fork purchased from Masi that we had to bend for the scenes after the pump insertion. But whoever stated that there were three Masi’s built for the film is incorrect.

The “third” bike was a Sears Free Spirit that was painted and hand decaled (Masi refused to supply a set of decals this bike) for the film in Indiana. This was the bike that was used for the scene when the Italian rider sticks the pump in the front wheel of Dave’s bike. It also appears in the Cinzano 100 race scenes where there are front shots of Dave. You can tell because this bike has Weinmann brakes. The brake cable on a Weinmann sidepull brake is on the right side not on the left as in the Campagnolo brakes.

The bike in the photo has different components than were on the bike we used in the film, including the front derailleur, brakes, seatpost, saddle. I read that about Chris Brown in another post. It is possible that Steve purchased another Masi. But I know for a fact we only had two for the film. I’m also fairly positive that the chainstay decals were blue on both bikes; the one on the photo is yellow. Perhaps he grabbed the wrong bike if he has two.

We used Colnagos for the Italian team basically because two of the riders already had them. We purchased 2 frames, a 54cm and 56cm, The 56 (which I still own) was ridden by Christian Vande Velde’s dad, John.”