A RUOTA LIBERA: A celebration of artisan pizza, handmade bicycles and music - August 12, 2012

Second annual "free-wheel" event to be held at Una Pizza Napoletana, Sunday August 12th 2012 1pm-7pm

Una Pizza Napoletana and Soulcraft Bicycles invite you to spend an afternoon with a collection of passionate craftsmen as they showcase the fruits of their labor in the second annual "A Ruota Libera" -- Italian for "free-wheel" – a celebration of handmade bicycles, handmade Neapolitan pizza and live music. Doors to the event open at 1pm.

The annual event developed by Anthony Mangieri, founder of Una Pizza Napoletana, and Sean Walling, founder of Soulcraft Bicycles brings together a cross-section of the preeminent names in the cycling industry with a focus on bicycles, parts and components created in Northern California.

Anthony Mangieri will be working his pizza oven surrounded by exhibitors, including: Steve Potts, Bruce Gordon, Soulcraft, Black Mountain, Rock Lobster, Steelman, Hunter, Inglis/Retrotec, Falconer, Caletti, Frances Cycles, Black Cat, Paul Components, Ahrens, Pass and Stow, Rebolledo, Blue Collar, and White Industries. Handmade bicycles, parts and components will be on display around the restaurant for people to enjoy up-close and personally.

The event features an exhibit by photographer Brian Vernor and will be soundtracked by a live performance from San Francisco native and legendary Bones Brigade skater Tommy Guerrero. The Reveille Coffee truck will be on the scene to give a little extra boost.

"A Ruota Libera" is sponsored in part by Beer Moretti and Lambrusco Pronto wine. Doors open at 1pm and the show will close promptly at 7pm. Admission of $10 includes pizza, music performance and secure bicycle parking

"A Ruota Libera"
August 12, 2012 1pm
Una Pizza Napoletana
210 11th St (at Howard St)
San Francisco, CA
For more information: 415-861-3444

H2H, finally

Sorry for the delay. I run perpetually behind schedule, especially during this time of year as I become anxious about the new Fall Semester. I teach a couple class and my old brain has lost some it's wattage to remember all the facts. Anyway, I wanted to report on another successful Hump-to-Hole (#4) before it also faded from my memory, if that is possible. This year was my 3rd attempt at the H2H and 2nd finish (I cracked on the rim two years ago after my brakes were rubbing  (sure, JQP!!) for 30 miles). Although our stellar group (there was 4 starters) of adventurers made one wrong turn that cost us at least an hour of precious time, the total time from the top of Arizona to the bottom of Arizona (about 11,000 feet of descending) was about 14 hours and 35 minutes. We started the day around (that's A.M.):

 Bagged the 12,600 ft. peak at (dawn):

And finished around dark (that's about half way down):

It was another great day on the bike. The best part, as always, was my cohort: Art, BGR, and Mel are the best of the best. My favorite part of the day was this:

In this image, Art is fetching water using a MSR filter. Another foot down and he would have needed to jump into the tank. Although it seemed like a lot of work, we were stoked to have taken the time to pump water here. There was little water to be had over the "course", which as about 100 miles in total. My other favorite part was this single track during a lusher time:

Thanks for reading!

timecapsule

did a little 90 mile out and back to Brainard Nebraska where there lives a former motorcycle dealership that closed in the fall of 1990. they were a car dealer before that and a tractor dealer before that. there's alot of stuff there. lots of gems and treasures.

odin's revenge version 1

some west/central nebraska local bike ride enjoyers put on a great event this weekend. odin's revenge. 180 miles on gravel. self suppoted with a few checkpoints and water stops. i'm hoping this one continues for years and years. i've always wondered what the roads around gothenburg, nebraska are like. you get no idea of nebraska's terrain from the drive by on the interstate.

registered riders were dropping out on the days leading up to the event due to the forecasted hell-ish heat. the rider meeting the night before was chill and with a small group. there was an awesome low key feel. and there was music played on a variety of instruments.

start time was 6am. cloud cover lasted a few hours and gave way to clear skies with temps rising thru the 80s and lower 90s. we were quickly soaked with sweat. the first two check points were relatively easy to get to but our little group struggled into the third check point. i made it worse by trying to nurse a flat into the check point. i should have just changed it but i didn't want to stop until i was in the shade at the CP. i left the check point solo. at 96 miles my riding partners had enough. certainly couldn't blame them for that decision. 7 miles out i started to realize being solo in 97 deg heat with 6-7 hour of riding left was perhaps not a great idea. i called in. i was picked up. i hated doing that. i figured it was better than the potential alternative.

upon returning to the start/finish area i was pleasantly surprised to receive the award for first place single speed. i did go the furthest of the single speeders, but yeah, would have rather finished the full distance. i'll have defend my title next year.

Hump-2-Hole 2012 coming soon

Ponca Ride V8

This was the eigth annual running of the Ponca Ride. Lincoln to Ponca on gravel roads. About 155 miles. We have a tradition of planning the year's calendar pretty early in the year. Some dates work out great, some others don't. You know how it goes. Shit gets busy. This year the ride was scheduled for the weekend of the local mtb race series event at Ponca State Park, so we knew there would be plenty of quality homies up there. Well the sketchy weather and the racing drew away a few other quality homies so the attendance at this years ride was low...2 (corey and i). Ok, 3 at the start (jeff) , but only 2 to make the 155 up to Ponca. Constant headwinds, an hour of rain, an exploding pedal, awesome diner breakfast, drying roads, a kickass bike, puffy clouds, nice cowboys and a campground full of friends made for a great weekend. I stole some pics from Cornbread.

The Dirty Kanza 200 was last weekend. Super fun event. Saw a few team mates there. Rolled with my buddy Carl . He snapped a few shots along the way. Finishing time was back in range with most of my other finishes, which felt super good. A few minutes beyond 17hrs in the saddle. The event has gotten larger and more competitive. My effort this year would have been worth top 10 SS class easy, but now, not so much. But that's ok with me. The event has been annual since 2006 and I have started all but one. Of those, I've completed all but one. So, this was my fifth finish. My satisfaction comes from completing this beast and managing to enjoy the day and the beautiful surroundings.