It’s no secret that cycling is an ever-evolving sport. When broken down into specific species of bicycles, one can track their phenotype by a time period. Rigid mountain bikes, steel road bikes and tank-like BMX bikes are all signifiers of their place in history. Evolution in cycling, just like in nature, occurs when natural selection takes hold.
Welcome To Beautiful Denver, Colorado
We are smack-dab in the middle of the United States at the foothills of the magnificent Rocky Mountains. Denver is a short drive from many cycling destinations like the epic Mt. Evans, the city of Boulder, and Winter Park, just a short 15 mile ride from the city you can climb Lookout Mountain or ride around Cherry Creek Reservoir, all via bike path. If BMX strikes your fancy, just wait until you see our skate parks, they’ll blow your mind.
I’ve been watching bicyclists climb a long hill from the lower neighborhoods to the upper neighborhoods. The road is fast and narrow, and the cyclists sometimes ride the sidewalk, dodging mothers with wheeled shopping baskets, young children, and joggers. The cyclists struggle up the hill—it’s hot and humid here making the extra physical exertion all that much more difficult. In the center median are colorful, oversize, metal silhouettes of bicyclists and pedestrians trapped in effortless poses of biking and walking ease. I see a bicyclist—he is dressed in a long black coat, curls of hair hang from the sides of his face. A broad black hat is bungeed to his panniers that carry books, a computer, and the assorted objects that help him to get through his day. I am in Jerusalem, Israel. And I am witnessing the birth of a biking boom.
週に二、三回、気の合う仲間たちと町中の校庭で集まる。缶ビールが回し飲みされ、タ
バコの煙が辺りに濃く漂う。皆それぞれが軽口を叩き合い、下ネタが敬遠されるどころ
か、積極的に歓迎される雰囲気。もし誰かが新しいパーツやメッセンジャー・バッグ、
自転車関係のアクセサリーを持ってきたなら、それを中心に品評会が始まる。
しかし、この集まりのメインはバイクポロ。競技の起源はインド北部で盛んだった
「Sagol Kangjei」というスポーツらしい。現代版は馬の代わりに自転車にまたがって校
庭やテニスコート、バスケットやホッケー、とにかく固くて平らな広場があれば試合が
できる。都会のど真ん中でも意外と放置されたスポーツ用広場というものはあちこちに
あって、そこから新しいサブカルチャーが始まっている様子を目の当たりにするのは興
味深い。現代社会にはあまりにも無駄が多く、誰も使わなくなった土地や施設を再利用
するのはその地域に住む普通の人間たちの独創力やたくましさが感じられる。
こうしてバイクポロについて思考してると、やはりスポーツの持つ人を一つにする力と
敵味方に分ける力に感心せざるを得ない。ここピッツバーグから車で二時間の距離にあ
るクリーブランドという町があるのだけれど、この二つの町はアメフトのチームがライ
バル関係にあり、とにかく仲が悪い。けれど、ピッツバーグでバイクポロをやってる奴
でクリーブランドのポロ・プレイヤーを仲間だと思っていない人間は俺は一人も知らな
い。そして向こうの連中も同じ思いだと確信している。
だから先日日本で初めてのバイクポロ・トーナメントの知らせを見た時、俺はその場で
このイベントのスポンサーになることを決めた。世の中は不景気でこの雑誌も始まった
ばかりの小さい規模のものだけれど、気持ちを込めてTシャツやキャップ、それにこの
雑誌で日本のポロを応援したい。まだ会ったことはないけど、Rikiをはじめ東京でバイ
クポロをやってる奴はみんなもう仲間だから。
These are some of the people who helped bring you Urban Velo #21. Check out their websites and let them know you like their work.
Ed Glazar – www.tedwardglazarphotography.com
Brad Quartuccio – www.randomprecisionphoto.com
Jeff Guerrero – flickr.com/urbanjeff
David Hoffman – www.marinbike.org
Lenny Maiorani – www.lennym.com
Eric Matthies – www.emp23.com
Chikara ‘Riki’ Taniuchi – flickr.com/rikitko
Jennifer Nordhem – twitter.com/mshurricane
John Prolly – www.prollyisnotprobably.com
Martec – www.NNTF.mx
Roger Lootine – www.residuecomics.com
Andy Singer – www.andysinger.com
Contents include: Do It By Bike In Denver, Fixed Freestyle Evolution, Countywide, I Love Riding in the City, From Cradle to Pave: Planning Your Bicycle Network, Gallery: Torneo de Bici Polo Tapatío, Residue, NYFC, Brake Lever Compatibility, Quick Release History, Maximize Solvent Use, No Exit.
Download it for free, or order a printed copy online.
We recently shipped a box of magazines to Tokyo for the first ever Japanese Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships. Check out the photos on Flickr.
This issue features an I Love Riding in the City contribution from Malaysia’s Raeesa Sya. She describes herself as “an illustrator/multidisciplinary designer with a pet cat”. She’s (obviously) also an urban cyclist.
Check out Raeesa’s blog, sheandroid.blogspot.com.
Presented by Panaracer. Photos by Annamarie Cabarloc. Check out www.iminusd.com
Headsets are fairly simple—a bearing on either side of the headtube that the fork rotates within—but installation and removal require dedicated tools. Many find headset and fork installation one of the first obstacles to overcome when building up a new frameset. Starting with a blank canvas, this article covers the basics of how to install a headset and fork, using the most common 1 1/8” threadless example with conventional press-fit bearing cups.
It looks daunting at first, but while there is a certainly a buy-in factor to having a completely outfitted home shop, over time the purchases pay for themselves through both direct hourly labor costs and the unquantifiable satisfaction of working on your own equipment. Beyond the basics (hammer, hacksaw, screwdrivers, etc) there are a handful of tools that are essential for basic repairs and adjustments. Purchasing what you can at the hardware store and buying one small tool per shop visit is one way to make the whole process that much less painful financially. Save the pricier purchases for opportune times of either cash on hand or a deal you can’t refuse and sooner than later you’ll find that you have a pretty stocked home shop.
While we’ve been to countless awesome races, rides, festivals, and other bike events, we’ve unfortunately been to more than our share of shitty events too. In addition to making magazines, we’ve each run our share of less-than-official bike events in the past and at risk of sounding conceited, none of them have totally sucked. We think it’s fair to assume that most anyone promoting a bike event is doing so with the intention of providing a fun and safe experience for everyone involved, but some people just have more enthusiasm than experience. So it’s with the purest of intentions that we present the following tips for putting on your own successful bike event. It’s up to you and your local laws to determine if your gathering needs any sorts of permits, insurance or other formalities.
Green transportation is the new marketing Mecca, and it looks as though times are good for vendors and manufacturers of alternative transportation. To be sure, there has been a recent (relatively) surge in bikes here in the US that have car-like abilities such as cargo bikes and Dutch-style child transporters. It’s a great time to expand your horizons and try a new bike that will help you to reduce your dependence on oil—either foreign or domestic. This has no doubt been brought even more sharply into focus with the explosion of, sinking and resulting environmental disaster of the BP Deep Water Horizon. This tragedy on the seas will be capitalized on by folks who want to sell you something that isn’t petroleum powered. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…
Evan glanced over and gave me a simple “yo” as we mashed our bikes across town. We had never met before but were instantly connected through a bond we had as injury defying, weather chancing, traffic dancing city cyclists. “What’s happenin’?” I forced the reply between pedal strokes. We introduced ourselves, reached over at speed and clinked our fists as if to make a toast.
For most casual cyclists the popular visibility of German cycling does not extend far beyond Jan Ullrich’s escapades at Le Tour or perhaps the Hochdorfer girls on their dance bikes. Dig deeper, however, and the rate at which Germans ride will disclose the long history of the bike in their country, a heritage of cycling with distinct icons and elements of tradition that have informed what they do today.
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