wsi x part ii

i thought i would have more to add but i think this picture sums it up.
more here and here.

i also forgot to mention that mustache outrageous! (andre, rowdy, and mike) took the wsi polo championship belts surprising the entire polo community and creating one of the biggest uproars i had seen in awhile. the last time i was in pdx vitamin water seemed to have stumbled across the triple crown and this awkward dude was giving it out too everyone. naturally they were back for more and had just assumed that a pdx team would win it all (hah!). they brought a mother load of the stuff for the winning team and had even more to be delivered. mustache outrageous! fit as much as they could into the polo caravan and will have an endless supply the next time they are in pdx. dave took some great photos:

special thanks to case and claire for housing us and brewing coffee every morning, schiable for the most epic van ride of my existence, and to kelsey and evan for the scavenged ride back home where we passed the fuck out and were no help whatsoever.

oh, and to all the talented and not so talented strippers of pdx. you are awesome.

wsi x part i

the ride up to portland laid the foundation for how the weekend would end up. shag carpet. seven bikes and six people surrounded in the most authentic orange shag carpet. the smell of shit and wet cigarettes. uncontrollable giggling, a dq dilly bar and rap music. plus i found myself sleeping face down in shag carpet every night. just like the good old days. 

i completely overpacked because it said it would be raining hard the whole weekend, which was not entirely untrue, but i definitely did not need six pairs of socks. and whenever it got too bad we just found the nearest strip club to camp out in. there are plenty in portland and i must say that they do not lack in variety. it was pretty hilarious to be surrounded by such a sausagefest and get totally broed out. right up there with the rest of those dollar collar fools.

portland is so fucking flat! SO flat. man, it was such a breeze. even in the rain it was still very mild and more tolerable then seattle. but i would not want to live there because i would just eat and drink (cheap as shit) and go to strip clubs and ride around ballard x 100 and never actually get anything done. oh and everyone is super nice but even the people that live there don't know where anything is if you ask them for directions and perfect strangers will let you borrow their u-lock because they have to work all weekend and just make sure to give it to this one dude at polo on monday.

i was not particularly thrilled the morning of the main race because i was hoping to have ridden around portland more to get a better grip on things. everywhere i had been so far was either a bar or a food cart. this quickly changed as i realized exactly how many people were in the same boat. along the way we ended up riding with multiple groups just trying to get from one place to the next. veronica and i ended up completing all five manifests and only missed a few spots. our timing was nothing to brag about but the fact that we did that well blows my mind. and of course they made us climb the two major hills that portland has to offer. 

the first of which was mount taber which is similar to interlocken and was a climb that was rewarding at the top. a nice ride equipped with a nice view and all. the second hill was just completely annoying and pointless and reminded me of the counterbalance but instead of an architecturally stimulating yuppy neighborhood it was just a dumb condo yuppy neighborhood. after the main race and some polo watching we rode from 62nd ne down sandy ave and over the burnside bridge into downtown for the awards ceremony. this is about 5 miles of unnoticeably downhill pavement that is slightly comparable to aurora. it was definitely the most enjoyable ride of the weekend because it felt like that summer ride that seattle has yet to provide me. 

in the whopping six pictures i took the whole weekend i managed to capture keanu.  more to come later. 

pdx

less then one week until WSI X and i am very  much looking forward to it.  portland's infrastructure has an appreciation for cycling that seattle lacks. portland is also flat and rumored to be warm despite the flash moments of downpour. portland has drinking aloud in their strip clubs. portland has no sales tax. 

i was there a few weeks back and surprised the 206 polo crew by rolling up on the first tournament of the triple crown. it was a really seat of my pants moment and i spent a lot of time just riding around. luckily, the city has a pretty straightforward grid of names and numbers but i know i will find myself completely clueless at times during the races. fuck though, this is just what i need right now: a 4 day shit show party and lots of bike riding.

how national lampoon of you

unfortunately there are no photos to accompany this post, but i just have one thing to say: if you have never ridden a bike while wearing a toga then i suggest that you do so as soon as possible. its as if an unknown void has been filled. some serious statue of liberty liberation. freedom for all!

46x18

i know i am not the most athletic person on the planet but switching my set up from 46x16 to 46x18 was like turning a slow jog into a sprint with little effort. i also threw on a 46x17 freewheel for a bit of variety. i thought i was incompetent before, not being able to skid without my knees buckling, or even worse, having to fucking get off my bike when going up certain hills. all along it was just two extra teeth that i needed to give me that glide. living in a city like seattle, i feel that a set up like this is necessary. honestly, i would much rather pedal then struggle and i feel like i have much more control. if you feel that you are struggling i suggest you re-evaluate what your ratio is. amongst other things that could be the issue, this simple change is like night and day and changing my cog was no big deal. luckily, i had help from the boys over at beef city (open mondays, 2111 E. Union) and i quickly learned that without the right tools one can be lost in the dark. its amazing how many random tools there are for bicycles that are only used for one purpose. i can see how they charge up the ass for maintenance at any bike shop but its really not as difficult as they would like you to think. if you have friends that are knowledgeable on the subject then i highly suggest you spend an afternoon with them and utilize it. i know it will save me lots of time and money in the future.