The Bicycle Film Festival brings you the 2nd Annual BFF polo tournament

5th October 2008
Free Entry
Prizes, entertainment, etc.
Afterparty at the Electricity Showrooms in Hoxton Square

Who’s in so far? The Fabulous French Fuckers are back. There are rumors of horse polo players (on bicycles, not horses..) BAD Polo, Oxford, Zombie R.M.Y, and Cluster Fuck Unit.

to register teams, email polo@bicyclefilmfestival.com.

BFF Polo

I’m back after taking some time off blogging.

Last night I went to  meeting to organize the frist season of the London Hard Court Bike Polo League.  After about a year of informal play on Sundays at Brick Lane, and a few tournaments we felt that world wide hard court polo was heading towards leagues, and competitive team play, and London should not be left behind.  We also felt this would help us increase our skills by playing competitively on fixed teams.

Polo at Brick lane

Hard Court Bike Polo is played by teams of three, on a blacktop, or concrete court, (usually encircled by walls or broads), with home made mallets (a sky pole, bolted to some plastic pipe is most common) games are to five goals. Play starts with each team seated on their bikes, near their goal, and the ball in the middle of the court, a non-player will start the game by counting from three, and yelling “go!”.  Both teams then charge for the ball, and try to score a goal by knocking the ball through a pair of cones with the head (thin end) of their mallets.  Players are not allowed to touch the ground with their feet from the start of the count, and if they do, they must “tap out” by touching their mallets to a wall, at one side of centre court.  Bike polo is a contact sport, and “like contact” is allowed, this means you can touch bike to bike, body to body, or mallet to mallet, but not mallet to bike, or mallet to body.

A player at Brick Lane blances with his mallet

The London league will start on the 1st of October, and teams can register (by emailing londonbikepololeague@gmail.com with your teams name, and name of the players) until the 29th of September.  We will continue to play non-competive pick up games at Brick Lane, just North of Bethnelgreen Road Sundays from 2pm year round.

Man who had sex with bicycle sentenced

A “cycle-sexualist” caught half-naked in a compromising position with his bicycle has been put on probation for three years.

Robert Stewart’s unlikely perversion has been analysed in chat rooms around the world after he was caught by two cleaners who walked in on him in a hostel room.

The 51-year-old was naked from the waist down and when the women opened the door he paused only to ask, “What is it, hen?”, before continuing to “move his hips back and forth as if to simulate sex”.

The police were called and at a hearing last month Mr Stewart was placed on the sex offenders’ register after admitting a sexual breach of the peace.

The case has prompted criticism of “loony British laws”, but he ended up in court because the “shocked” cleaners said they had knocked repeatedly before opening the door.

At Ayr sheriff court on the west coast of Scotland today, Mr Stewart was sentenced for the rare offence and for a separate breach of the peace charge for threatening a member of staff in a hostel in the town

The court was told that alcohol was the cause of his problems, and he was placed under the supervision of a social worker and warned that if he re-offended he would be sent to prison.

Sheriff Colin Miller added: “In almost four decades in the law I thought I had come across every perversion known to mankind, but this is a new one on me. I have never heard of a ‘cycle-sexualist’. “

Mr Stewart, an unemployed bachelor, has described the incident as a misunderstanding caused by too much drink, and said claims that he was having sex with the bike were “a load of rubbish”.

His solicitor Gerry Tierney described his client as a “sad little man” who was trying to tackle his drink problem.

He added: “When the cleaners came in, he thought he was having fun with them. He does not think it is funny any more, and he has had to move home three times because he has been targeted because of the offence.”

From the Telegraph

I heard the bicycle was asking for it.

Saturday I went to see the local Red Riding Hoods play the ICT Roller Girls from Wichita Kansas. I rolled up to the bout after a training ride, and polo that had run long, so I had a good amount of “Messenger Musk” built up. This empowered me to ask to take my bike in, which they kindly obliged. On my way in I paid six dollars for a PBR tall boy, and found some space in the packed house to watch.

The Girls played rough, and a few jams where reset when both jamers ended up in the penalty box. The Hoods laid into the newer ICT girls relentlessly, knocking them down and racking up the points. ICT fought back furiously, but they could not match the more experienced Hoods, and by halftime they where lagging in points and the altitude was showing.

The halftime performance included cheer leaders, and a skate dancer. A raffle, and a competition where men popped balloons by squeezing them against the cheer leaders followed, one of the roller girls fathers participated.

The second half played out like the first: fast and rough. The Hoods kept racking up the points, the ICT girls just could not keep up. The bout finished with out any injuries, and the Red Riding Hoods won by a hefty margin. Both teams played well, and when ICT have more experience the tables could turn.

more photos on my Flickr

This is one of the funniest blogs I have ever stumbled across on the internet, I thought heavily armed idiots where an American thing.

This Shits Nitro

“I can’t fucking wait for the end of the world, I’m going to go ballsitic. Just think about the fun that could be had if there were no rules, no laws, no way out…”

Yes he takes himself seriously.

first day in Atlanta, GA. The down town was still showing hurricane damage, and the aggressive homeless population gave the city a real Atlas Shrugged feel. Also these signs where every where:

Denver Lacks a velodrome, so on Good Friday we met up near the Millenium Bridge. About 30 people turned up, for matched sprints, PBR pick up, longest wheelie, best trick, and a slow race. All events where free to all comers, and they even provided free PBR.

I lost my sprint in the first heat to some one who made it to the finals. I watched some of denvers finest spin their legs off, and caught up with some old friends.

I split off for a beer run, and got back in time to roll out for the PBR pick up. Cans where laid on their side, and the rides circled around them, on “go” we moved in, and tried to grab some beer. There was some pushing for position, and i rolled up to can I like the look of, leaned over for it, and fell. I looked around,

most people had done the same and only 3 rides remained on the feild, each had a few cans, but the court was still littered with them. The winner had over ten cans tucked under his hoodie, after getting his prize we head the first one hit the ground and burst.

There where some good wheelies, and tricks, one guy spun a wheel on his head while track standing, but the highlight for me was the slow race. At the line I teamed up with the guy next to me, he had his left hand on the outside of his drops, i put my left on his stem, his right on my stem, and my right on my drops. This worked really well as we balanced the other, we were a good 3 feet behind the pack, when my partner slipped, and I went the other way.

I didn’t leave with a prize, but I had a good time.

Just like London, must be not-organized by the same person or group of people.

I finished my brew a few weeks back, but didn’t get around to taking pictures of it until yesterday. Its fast and smooth, I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Specifications:

Frame: Brew Custom, made by me with the help of Steve Garn
Fork: Profile Carbon
Wheels: Velocity Deep V laced to Phil Wood high flange track hubs with DT Swiss double butted spokes
Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood with JIS axle
Cranks: Sungino Messenger

Cog: Phil Wood 1/8th 16t

Pedals: Time Attak

by Alice Fisher
Style Correspondent
Riding a bicycle without brakes sounds like a rash move, but a new wave of cyclists is eschewing traditional bikes for a stripped-down machine known as a fixed-gear.
It is one of the most basic machines you can build with two wheels. A fixed-gear bike – or fixie – has no derailleur as it has only one gear, so as long as the wheels turn, so do the pedals. Its rider can’t freewheel and the only way to brake is to stand on the pedals.
The fixed-gear’s renaissance supposedly stems from West Indian immigrants in New York working as cycle couriers in the Eighties. They had used them at home because they were cheap and easy to maintain, and continued using them in the US. Their popularity spread throughout the courier community, crossing to the UK and other countries.
As the fixie craze has taken off so has the number of new riders who enter ‘alleycats’ – unofficial road races consisting of a series of checkpoints on a set route. Alleycats originated in America and were organised for and by cycle couriers but now inexperienced riders participate. Last Sunday in Chicago, Matthew Manger-Lynch, 29, was killed in a collision with a four-wheel drive vehicle after running a red light. He was competing in an alleycat known as Tour Da Chicago. A similar race – the New York Monstertrack, normally the biggest annual alleycat in the US – was scheduled to take place on 8 March, but was cancelled after the Chicago death. These races now take place in British cities and threaten to colour public opinion of the growing urban cyclist subculture. Around 30 cyclists took part in one organised by art students in central London last Thursday which finished with a party at a bar in Hoxton.
Roxy Erickson, 28, who is part of the women-only Trixie Chix collective, said: ‘Media reports don’t show the community spirit or the eco-friendly side of cycling. A working messenger [courier] who got hit by a double-decker bus wouldn’t get as much news space.’
The strength of the fixed-gear community is demonstrated on the messageboards that are full of updates on the welfare of cyclists injured in accidents, invites to parties and gallery openings as well as alleycats, which are often held to support injured cyclists or promote causes such as the war on drugs.
Andy Ellis, 28, who is part of the London Fixed Gear collective and builds fixies, explained why the bikes were so popular. ‘You can’t get more linked to a bike than on fixed-gear. There are aspects which compare to skateboarding. You enjoy travelling through the city in the same way, but on a fixed-gear, it’s faster and you have more control.’
The fixie’s simplicity and grace appeals to the fashion conscious, many of whom take customisation to extravagant levels, creating bikes with imported track-bike frames and hand-built wheels that cost thousands.
Ellis said: ‘At first it was anything to get them on the road, but I’ve built three bikes for one guy in the last year and every time he comes back he wants something more exclusive.’
The international fixed scene is now getting mainstream attention, including official sponsorship from bike companies. A cyclist known as Superted – part of the Fixed Gear London collective – is sponsored by cycle brand Charge Bikes. There’s also the Bike Film Festival, now in its fourth year, which showcases films documenting cyclists’ tricks and agility.
The most successful fixed-gear film is Mash SF, which features the Mash SF collective riding in San Francisco. ‘It’s the first big film about fixed-gear trick riding,’ said Laura Fraser, the London producer of the festival and a fixed-gear rider. ‘It’s gone around the world.’
Tom Bogdanowicz, of the London Cycling Campaign, the largest urban cycling organisation in the world, says: ‘Fixed is enjoyable and good for fitness, but you have to acquire riding skills. Once mastered, the bikes are good for urban cycling as they make you very aware of the road and you can maintain speed at a level that’s suitable for traffic. They make you think ahead.’ He suggested that anyone wishing to try fixed in London should go to Herne Hill Stadium where low-cost training sessions were on offer.

This cacophony of ignorance, bad writing and worse research graced the pages of the Observer in London on Sunday. Roxy Erickson of Trixie Chix fame valiantly attempted to stop this orgy of stupidity hot on the press, by writing an e-mail to Alice Fisher correcting all her mistakes after she saw an advanced copy. Alas her efforts where in vain. Andy of “London Fixed Gear Collective” or Fixed Gear London as it is actually called, never said a wheel set cost thousands. Roxy’s quote refers to two messengers who where injured this past week.

The most offensive thing about this is not the bad writing, its not the errors of fact, its not even Alice’s insistence on the word ‘fixie’, its that last week two messengers in London where injured by Heavy Goods Vehicles, and last month a commuter was killed by a bus, and there is no mention of this. I thought gore sold papers. How about an in depth look at the lives that could be saved by baning HGVs during working hours (7:30am to 7:30pm) from central London? Or about how a bike path is the most dangerous place to cycle? No sod that, lets send out our ironic facial hair reporter to do what a paper with a lower standard of journalism did a better job of six weeks ago, that almost a good idea as using a bike as a fashion accessory.