Cranky Franky

So as mentioned before we sorted out a little roll for our spritely young crew... Train to frankston and then a wind-assisted ride back to the city.

After some blog and text discussion about starting times we met up and snagged tony as we hustled for a then delayed train out to the burbs.


Whilst discussions on the train varied from old roadie tricks to watching ipod versions of MASH we kept an eye on our big pile of bikes and gathered strange looks from other passengers.

A brief delay to pick up up more liquids (who knew a cup of coffee would take so long to prepare) we were off out of town.


Our fearless leader Hans had us all well warned about blowing red lights... only for us to blow the first one we came too.

After a little routing confusion we were settled onto a nice flowing ride back towards town.

Smelling the sea air was a great treat and the sun shone down hard making the faster descents a relief.


Stopping blackrock to refuel and check out bike attire... some of us found deals on now needed gloves while others eyed off lycra and new hats. we knew we were almost home (despite the odometer indicating we were only halfway) as this was now familiar territory.


the pace kicked up as people chased roadies and teamed up for mini-pacelines... and then another stop at a soon to close bike shop for tyres and a promise of future deals.

St Kilda loomed and the group spit with some off to the north and some to the east, each for food and tales of km travelled.


good times!

The Keirin Experience

Taste

Series coming soon.

Nara Velodrome

Track sessions

After a confusing start to the day we eventually headed on our way to coburg and onto the velodrome, where awaiting a pack of angry dogs that wanted to eat you alive 15 metres away from the fence, in the gnarly street next to the velodrome . evisu getting his second flat of the day and then onto the track was the fastest dude on the day charging the corners.eventually he was stopped on the way out with his third puncture of the day!!(that sux man) and having to get the train back.There were words from the crew of having a cranky track day,timing each other,drinking some beers and maybee a bbq would be hella fun,but there was also words of drinking milk and riding with the last one to chuck the winner! a good day to be had with tony leading the crew into the city for the japanese fest and some brews.....Benzy

randomness

so while i continue to forget about uploading my shots from frankston last week i thought i'd throw up some quotes ive found in the past week and a funny image i stole...

oh, and after a communication mix-up i ended up on the 'smaller' cranky ride on sunday. not so much shorter in distance, more in the fact that there were 2 fixed gears (both brakeless) and 8 freewheels. it's totally doable fixed... would just need some more group riding experience and a little more advance notice. lycra and water are a must.

"I believe that the ultimate fixter is yet to be discovered, and that it is in fact a Colnago Extreme Power featuring a bare seat tube, no seat, and rubbing Zipp 808 clinchers ground down to accept hard rubber wheelchair tires, and that the flat bars are so short that it's easier to steer the bike 'horsey-style,' by running a rope through the hollow tube and pulling the rope to go right or left. Yes, it has a front brake lever, glued to the front tire, which makes the ride somewhat lumpy."

"If only I could ride my bike as well as I place on the BSNYC comment page, I'd be a Cat. 1 by now."

i think the latter one applies to tracko as well...

what would whitney do?

Hijacked.

3 more sunday pics

More Crankston

yeah mate i been down ta franga!

click click shutter

tokyo styles

FRANKSTON this Sunday

I feel that we need to meet at 11am in order to get organized and on a train.

I need a general decision so we can settle it and let everyone know.

Post back with your choice.

- Diamonds

My frankganistan freight train

PROPS...

We got a mention on HK Fixed the other day. Thanks Brian!

LINK

Hello!

So basically i was going to do a 'intro' post because Hans and the rest of the Cranky Mafia were nice enough to jump me in and let me post on here. But then I decided that if you don't know me you should just come up and say hi or something.

So...
dude with a beard
celeste bike (peter bundy if you must know) with lots of celeste and black on it
most likely wearing a cycling cap and/white helmet
loud voice

i try to be as nice to strangers as possible... if i'm rude to you, call me out on it. this scene doesnt get any bigger or better if people are rude to one another.

anyways... i decided i'd make this first post about one of my best friends. he is a good example of why you shouldnt judge people based on appearance or first impressions.

To be fair he scared me the first 10 or so times i'd see him at art openings or riding around the street. sure we had some similar friends... but he was 6'4", heavily tattooed (and not so much in a 'fashion' way), looked pretty grimy and generally had this 'dont fuck with me' appearance.

we ended up meeting through some online posts he was making trying to shake up the local fixed gear scene... and then in short order, ended up putting on an event. after i nearly killed him thanks to his short attention span and crazy ideas, and him based on my desire to make sure no-one died or that we made it so that anyone could feel like they could participate our friendship was cemented.

along the way i think he's pissed off more people than i could count in his quest to make vancouver (and the rest of the world) realise the potential of these bikes we misappropriate on the street. a lot of those people are now friends with him and/or give him a heck of a lot of credit for what he ended up doing. he is as stubborn as he is creative...



his lack of deep bike background and a long history of skateboarding/snowboarding/rock climbing/graffiti gave him a different view on where he could go (and a common ground with some of the early big names of our little branch of the game). the fact he wasnt afraid to put his words into action helped a lot. (i have definitely logged some miles with him driving across borders to other cities or riding to new spots)


we were definitely the 'odd couple' of the local scene, but i look back at some of the stuff we put on or got away with and neither of us could have done it alone.

he is now responsible (in some way or another) for the permanent artwork on my legs and lot of really good memories. he is an amazingly kind-hearted person... and actually a total clown.

when i moved out here, he moved to montreal with his wife and despite all common sense (mine at least) he kept messengering. this for a guy that is certified to be a contruction site safety supervisor and an industrial carpenter.

this is a shot he sent out a few weeks ago as he came home from work


apparently this was a -30C day...

so when ive been complaining about the heat, he comes back with the temps in montreal and how he is out there after work still 'getting it done'.

so yeah... heres to riding with the homies, meeting new people and you never know how that next person you end up talking to going to impact your life...

thanks for bearing with me on this one... next few will probably be a collection of online and in-person quotes i've seen and heard. the internet is great for bringing out the idiot in people...

THIS SUNDAY

Next ride: Catch the train to Frankston aka Franga aka Franganistan, spend as little time as possible there, and ride back to civilisation...

Powder...

Can anyone recommend a good Powder coater in Melbourne?

And can anyone confirm the quality of the Aerospoke coating?

- c

NEW

New frame with old parts

YOU JUMP OFF AND DO WHAT??!!

I normally don't like passing second hand pics or vids on blogs....but everyone needs to see this shit. Absolutely insane!

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

AQUAMAN OUT OF WATER...