EC Velo Club

HELLCAT

2011-09-20T17:35:00.004-05:00

Hellcat. Alleycat bicyle event. Oct 22nd. Close to Halloween. Dress funky if you're spunky. Meeting location: Behind Racy's/Eau Claire Bike & Sport. Start time: 1pm. Bring the shit you need. After-party to follow. Price: $10 or the scalp of your nemesis (proof of nemesis status required).

BIG FALLS RIDE

2011-06-17T18:50:00.002-05:00

Big Falls Ride!

Leisurely pace...16-20mph. Leave behind Racy's/Bike and Sport at 6pm or 6:15 from Gordy's on Birch (where we shall get supplies). Meet at whichever spot is convenient. Big punctual, we may leave early if we're all ready to go.

Bring swimwear, beer money, lights (it will be dark on the way home) and whatever else you think will be needed. Most or all of the beer will be hauled in the Big Dummy.

JULY 7TH!

Valleycat

2011-05-03T20:18:00.001-05:00

http://valleycat.org/

ICE RACE 2011

2011-01-16T20:24:00.002-06:00

ICE RACE! We'll be doing some races at 2pm. We'll set up the course on Friday at 5pm. Come help shovel and design.

GOLDSPRINTS FOR WINTER 2011

2011-01-04T20:41:00.001-06:00

Regular Goldsprints events for the rest of season.
These are all Wednesdays from 5-8pm The Mousetrap, 311 S. Barstow.

FREE!

Jan 5th
Jan 19th
Feb 9th

Mar 30th - New Belgium (Fat Tire) and Evolve Wellness sponsored!

GOLDSPRINTS round two

2010-12-06T19:44:00.004-06:00

Goldsprints! Dec 15th, 5-9pm at the Mousetrap. 300m qualifiers for the first couple hours. 600m final four tournament. If we get enough ladies we'll do a female bracket. Drink ticket prizes. We'll do a couple beer races, some 1000 to 2000m races for fun. We had 15 people last time. It was definitely a good time.

GOLDSPRINTS

2010-11-19T07:33:00.001-06:00

GOLDSPRINTS at the Mousetrap. Free.
This is the start of a regular event for the winter. We'll determine the interval after this event. For those that don't know, Goldsprints is an electronic timing system for roller racing. Two identically set up Giant Bowerys on the Kreitler Roller Racing station. We'll do 250m qualifying sprints for the first two hours (so if you can't get there by 5pm, that's okay). Get as many runs in as possible. Best four times with go heads up for 500m in the last hour.

All equipment is provided, just bring yourself.
Spectating is encouraged but at least give it a shot!

Stage Sprint of Doom

2010-10-06T13:19:00.001-05:00

This is not an alleycat. You will have to choose the route between checkpoints but you will only know what the very next checkpoint is. We may also hold off on telling you while waiting for a few more racers. Some people may also not find out what the next checkpoint is, but don't let that stop you. Your mind should be challenged as well as your body. Do whatever it takes to keep rolling. Checkpoint monitors will be informed of the final checkpoint (after-party) when we have our first racer in and everyone can converge. No manifests.
$10
Prizes (including a Deep V with DT Comp spokes to an All-City hub)
Beer.
Meet at Demmler park to register. You'll find out the first point a few minutes before the start. Race shall start at 2pm so get there before then to register.

Don't feel like riding or have a friend that can help out? We need checkpoint monitors. Let us know.

Schedule Change and Ronde Vas Bastardia

2010-04-24T14:53:00.007-05:00

My work schedule changed so don't expect me on Thursday very often/ever. Balls.

But in other news there is a 70 mile ride the weekend after the Valleycat.

Looks like it would be fun. I know I would enjoy doing it. Too bad I have to work that weekend.

Valleycat page

2010-04-01T15:36:00.002-05:00

Valleycat

Seriously. Be there.

TNR 03/25/10 - Fucking Losers

2010-03-26T13:00:00.005-05:00

Great ride. Plenty of people. Up and down and around. LA beach, down and around, Sherman creek fire, bar, $20 off the floor.

Valleycat has a good amount of sponsors. Be there.

The world is coming to an end

Valleycat + Updates

2010-03-21T18:38:00.004-05:00

Valleycat! May 15th. Race starts at 1pm, get there early to register. Rod and Gun Park Pavilion. Bring a bag and your wits.

TNR last week we went to the secret beach and made fire. Bare feet in the sand.

Week before.

STOLEN!

2010-02-09T07:11:00.002-06:00

I'm sure everyone knows, but Mag's Sekine was stolen. It looks like this only with flat bars. Probably be on the look out for parts. Machined orange Deep V's, Sugino RD2 cranks, and Eggbeater SLs.

Update... Ice Race

2010-01-30T21:54:00.002-06:00

Ice Race.... Feb 13th, 2pm on Half Moon. Meet at the Birch picnic area below Carson park on the east side by the road. Course will be long, short, or both depending on lake conditions. Bring a couple bucks. Drinking beer later as well. Self studded tires are highly recommended. We'll likely have a tire studding clinic the night before.

Anywho... TNRs.... some bad turnouts but then on this Thursday quite a few turned out to roll in a darn cold night. Rode bikes, did awesome stuff, made fire. Saw vehicular destruction. If you missed it, you probably couldn't have hanged anyways. Stupor bowl next weekend. I won't be there but others will.

Snow Day

2009-12-09T18:18:00.002-06:00

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Gutterballs TNR 12/03/09

2009-12-06T13:37:00.002-06:00

Rode around downtown, Banbury (David got a flat), east side, south side off roading, then down to the Civic center for cookie break. Then to the Last Chance.

Christmas lights. I met the guy at the Bike shop the next day. That's an actual bike up there.

Cheap Brook's Saddles

2009-12-01T18:46:00.004-06:00

Normally I wouldn't advocate purchasing bicycle parts from anywhere except EC Bike and Sport, but these are stupid cheap. Ben's Cycles (Milwaukee Bicycle Co) has some no box Brook's saddles for half off... which puts them lower than cost. The only thing is it mainly on higher end titanium rail models, women's saddles, and dual rail springs that require a straight seatpost.

I got my black Ti rail Swallow today for $225+tax w/free shipping. It was supposed to come without a box but it came with one and with the proofride, cloth, and rain cover. I also weighed it. 360 grams on the nuts, just as advertised.

Dynamo Powered Light & USB Charger

2009-11-28T18:06:00.006-06:00

So some of you know that I've made a few dynamo lights. My latest creation is one with a switch that changes from the 600 Lumen 4x Cree Q5 leds to a female USB out producing 4.96v that charges your cell phone, iPod, GPS.... whatever you need (Yeah... GPS on a bike. Taking touring to the extreme. Turn left here.) It's a solid continuous voltage supply as long as you're going faster than 5mph or whatever. If you slow down below that it shuts off. It's regulated with an LM2940 regulator so you can't fry whatever electronic you put on there.

The schematic. It's a combination of two designs available on the internet. The general dynamo light design is from Pilom. The USB charging is available on the internet if you do some searching. I'm not an EE so I'm not that great at designing this stuff, but I do understand it. The dynamo is a 0.5A current source. It produces AC (alternating current) voltage. A full bridge rectify is use to convert the AC to DC. That's what the four diodes are doing. Diodes only allow current to flow one direction. Since AC is a wave that goes positive to negative, the diodes direct the positive voltage to the positive side of the circuit and the negative voltage to ground on both waves. It effectively takes the normal wave and takes the negative potential of the lower half of the wave and makes it positive. Schottky diodes are used to reduce the voltage drop across the diode. Then C1 cleans up the row of humps so it is a flatter line. This is how flicker is reduced in the LEDs. C2 and C3 are acting as a voltage boost. The resistor just biases the capacitors since they are polarized. Then on the light side it just puts the positive through the LEDs and goes to ground. The reason it must be converted from AC to DC is because of the LEDs. LED stands for light emitting diode. As explained earlier, current can only flow one direction through a diode. If you put a diode in backwards it goes into what is called breakdown and it is no more. Putting a capacitor in backwards makes them explode.
The USB charger side of the circuit is pretty simple. C4 and C5 are just noise filters and the LM2940 is a voltage regulator. It will output approximately 5v. Only one side of the circuits need to be switched. The ground can be shared since there is no potential without a complete circuit.

You can see the full bridge rectifier in the center of the board. The metal rectangle is the LM2940. The three big cyclinders are C1, C2, and C3. C4 and C5 and hidden by the LM2940 in this pic.
The four LEDs epoxied (using thermal epoxy) to an aluminum disc. My dad cut these out of some scrap aluminum he had laying around. Thanks Daddy. The disc is a heatsink so keep the LEDs alive for longer. They don't produce as much heat in this application because the dynamo limits the current to 500mA. Many battery powered lights use 700mA to 1A. This creates a bit more heat. The bolt is what I call the spine. It holds the LEDs, then spacers go on and the electronics go on there and then the bolt goes into the housing and supports everything. The cap puts pressure on the optics to support the front.The LEDs. The rectangle is the actually LED with a primary optic. They are put on a 16mm star board to give them a better base.

Secondary spot beam optic on the LEDs.

The underside where all the soldering happens. It's pretty messy and not done in a manner that would be considered proper but it works and reduces the amount of wires needed to connect them. If I was going to manufacture these I'd want a pre-printed board so I would just have to solder in the components. Maybe go to the extreme of having a chip made with all the capacitors and diodes integrated into the board.

A little better view. You can see C4 and C5 now. They're the little yellow bulbs. It's another style of capacitor usually only used on smaller capacitors. You can see about half of the resistor between the capacitors.
This is the On/On switch.

All done. The white nub is a cover over the switch. The black bosses are waterproof bungs for the wires. The brown goes to the dynamo and the black is the female USB plug. The metal piece is the mounting bracket. Everything is siliconed together after everything is tested to make it more water resistant. I wouldn't submerge it but I haven't had any issues in the past year using dynamo lights. It's kinda messy of a method but it works. The LEDs with an optical grade lexan lens siliconed into the cap. The cap used to have an S in it for Salt.
So now you have an idea as to why they're so big. They should be cut down about an inch shorter but it would effect the strength of the housing (the end of the can has a lip that gives it structure) and also make it difficult to push the wires in since the spacer for them would be less. Obviously it can all fit in a much smaller area. My first light is in a small candle holder. The electronics could be remotely mounted in a project box as well with just two wires feeding a small housing with the LEDs. In this case the housing could be about an inch, inch and a half deep with just the aluminum disk, LEDs, and secondary optic.

TNR 11/19/09

2009-11-28T17:55:00.003-06:00

Little late but whatever. Rode around, got a case of beer... acquired some chips... went to the beeramid.

Then went and had a little fire. It was a good time. Lots of riding around to do dumb stuff. I threw up at 5:20am from eating too many cheetos.

Ghettocross

2009-11-10T17:39:00.005-06:00

Well, EC had it's first cyclocross race. It was pretty fun. Definitely wouldn't mind making it a regular thing next fall, but a better venue would probably be required.

The load

We locked EZ in the can.

We freed him and didn't tell him. He was still trying to get out.

Jeff gets hit by a car

2009-11-09T00:15:00.002-06:00

Jeff Fringes has a blog. He was the one attacked by the snow plow last year. He rides with cameras. He got hit by a car that then drove off.

http://bikesafer.blogspot.com/2009/11/ironically_03.html

Who wants to buy me a helmet cam?

Guilty! (not me)

2009-11-03T19:01:00.005-06:00

So last summer this doctor swerves in front of some cyclists and slams on the brakes and they get hurt. Well, he's guilty of six felonies now.

http://www.velonews.com/article/99800

"Thompson's lawyer had argued that the cyclists were belligerent and may have fallen because of the inherent instability of bicycles."

Yes, the inherent instability of gyros spinning. 10 years is the maximum, but he'll likely get the minimum and be out before that on parole. They should take his license away. Use a car as a weapon, you lose your car and right to drive. Just like with firearms.

Let's see how the legal system treats me Thursday...

Also, GHETTOCROSS, BE THERE, damnit!

TNR 10/22/09 also GHETTO CROSS

2009-10-23T15:48:00.005-05:00

Ghetto Cross will be Nov 7th at Sherman Creek at 1pm.

Rode 20ish miles then went to Hilltop. EZ was laying off the sauce....

That didn't last long.

Week in review

2009-10-11T22:51:00.003-05:00

Rode around, had a couple way overpriced pitchers at the Metroplis hotel. Made a fire.
Then on Saturday it was the Tour d'Eau Claire. Drank 100 High Lifes in 30 minutes then went to the Maple Manor. Shots.

And drew mustaches on the fingers.
That's going to be weird to explain at work on Monday.

TNR 09/24/09

2009-09-27T19:36:00.004-05:00

Rode around a bit. Had some pics of us taken for V1. Went through Carson. Got a flat. Seven minutes later we rode towards Hallie and had some fire. Rode back. I ate shit on the way home.

On Friday a ride was bummed.

Just in from Interbike... new fat tire

2009-09-22T19:01:00.004-05:00

Surly has a new front tire for Pugsleys (finally). It should allow for a bit more steering control with it's more rudder like tread. Perhaps I'll have to get one for my Pugsley.

Tandem Obstacle Course Race

2009-09-20T00:24:00.010-05:00

Went to the Elk Lake Tavern for some tandem obstacle course racing.

Two pedal strokes in and the pressed on crank spider came off a bit. One tandem down. We did rig it up to work though.

No more shifting. Duct tape SS.

Check it. What.

GO GO GO GO!

Seat would tighten. Duct tape = fixed.

Ketchup

About to eat shit to avoid a telephone poll.

I got hit in the face with a wiener.

Pretty awesome time. Everyone should make an effort to attend the event next year. Everything was coming loose on the bikes. We wrecked two front wheels as well.
EC Velo represent.

TNR 09/17/09

2009-09-18T01:39:00.004-05:00

Hill climbing, some almost cop harassment (surprise!), bushwacking, College Mandy backing out. Pretty standard TNR. We also stopped at Petco...

TNR 09/10/09

2009-09-11T01:57:00.004-05:00

Smaller crew tonight. Rolled around the town up the south side. Was passed by a Corvette too close. I mean, I get it. I have a Corvette too but when I drove it I didn't pass bicycles too close. Then we went back around to Altoona. We were then informed by a lift kitted truck that we should acquire automobiles. We respectfully declined. LA Beach for beers and then back. Oh, and we raced a train.

Bicycle Part Yard Sale

2009-09-04T17:13:00.001-05:00

Just so all y'all know...

"Having a yard sale at my house, 726 Chauncey st., EC, tommorrow starting around 8am. Lots of used bike stuff, tires, some wheels, stems, random, etc. Couple discbrake sets, crankset.
Craig Manthe"

P.S. I call dibs on all the cool shit.

TNR 09/03/09

2009-09-04T01:28:00.004-05:00

Rolled out to Porterville. Beer. Rolled back. Carson Park. Foot down. Antics. Top tube under crank arm.

Winner winner.

Beer.
Party.
Beer.
Home.
School for bike house.
Lame.

ECVC vs driving rains and ridiculous action flicks

2009-08-14T03:22:00.002-05:00

Thursday Night Ride

Gemini Twin

10 men plus John Eric and a friend

Two long bikes out tonight. Hauled a stereo system and speakers to the movies. Broke the damn receiver. Then torrential downpour. Everyone soaked; super wet. EC Velo rolled hard through the rain at 0200 hours. Who else does this shit?

TNR 08/13/09 Fighting Tornados

2009-08-14T02:45:00.004-05:00

EC Velo fought a tornado and won. No big deal. Orange sky means nothing. Rolled the hills to the Gemini. Stopped for Haapala to fix a flat for what seemed to be an hour. Beer. Movie. Downpour about half way through G.I. Joe. Awesome. Warriors. Rain was on/off/hard/light. Pretty much the best way to go to the drive-in. Rolled back in a decent downpour. Basically EC Velo is the baddest bunch of bicyclists that ever rolled by the boulevards.

TNR 08/06/09

2009-08-07T00:19:00.002-05:00

Lots of pedaling. Rolled on trail and some back roads to Chippewa. I broke off with a few others to head back early because I'm a loser and a bit beat. Everyone else I'm sure is still engaged in drunken revelry and fire making. I lit shot some lighter fluid into a ground bee's nest at my house and lit it. It was in a wall so I don't know if I got enough penetration to burn the fuckers out.

TNR- Rain and Hills

2009-08-01T14:00:00.002-05:00

Rode south of town and looked at a Hosta farm with about a thousand species. Saw a rainbow. Then rode a rollercoaster of hills back across. Then we stole Andy's NDS pedal. It was hiwearwious.

TNR, Mags is back.

2009-07-24T00:20:00.002-05:00

Mags got back on Tuesday. He rode tonight. Good crew. Damian didn't make anyone crash, that's always a plus. Rode to the cliffs. Many jumped jumped. Water beers were had. Rode hard to LA Beach then hard back. I chased a guy that honked at us from Galloway to 5th. He even started taking turns to lose me. He did, but he knew I was there. Then to the Ultimate Spot (Fuck yeah!). Bees. What? Bees! Many of us got stung... more than once. I left early because I'm beat from riding hard with a cold.

Oh, and I bought a Big Dummy. It hauls big stuff, like the box it came in back to the bike shop.

TNRs...

2009-07-17T23:14:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago... rode around a little. Small crew. Hot and humid.

This week rode a bit... David ate shit and so did his front wheel. Rode around a little more then we installed the buttery smooth Campy Record front wheel. Off to pick up the fourth of the foursome and had a little grown up ride. Grabbed beer a minute before 9:00 and made fire, like men.

Firecracker is coming up!

2009-06-26T23:39:00.004-05:00

Craig Manthe wants EC Velo to course martial and man the Monster Energy Zone at the Firecracker mountain bike race on Sunday, July 5th. All volunteers will receive a t-shirt and goody-bag. Try to get to the Expo center behind Action City by 8am. I'm pretty sure beer drinking will be ok too. Contact me if anyone has any questions.

Also, on Monday, June 29th, there will be a course ride and grillout (and beer!) for people who will be volunteering for the Firecracker. You can get more info straight from Craig there. Course ride will start at 5pm at Lowes Creek on the Lowes Creek Road side with grilling to come after. I'll try to make it out there myself, but I have to work at 8pm.

More Firecracker info:
http://www.wors.org/schedule/event.php?e=13

TNR - 06/25/09 - Big Falls

2009-06-26T02:50:00.003-05:00

Rode out to Big Falls with 60 beers. Swam in the water, dicked around, rode back, after ride pool party at my place, pizza. Pretty good time. I feel bad for those that missed it. Also, because of the holiday I can ride the next two weeks.

TNR 6/11/09

2009-06-13T23:24:00.002-05:00

I think we had 14 riders. Road north. Around the airport, beer at the drainage beach, road out further and back on P and got harassed by some passing rednecks and then to the top of the world for a fire and some brews. 'Twas a good Thursday. See everybody in two weeks. Rotating schedule.

TNR 6/4/09

2009-06-10T17:32:00.006-05:00

We rode bikes. Went south of town for a bit, beer, pyramid, bike ride, dumpster dive, ride bike, beer, awesome.

And David rode his pants apart.

Peregrine

2009-05-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

So pretty.

Bummer

2009-05-07T02:14:00.002-05:00

The "One Gear, More Beer" were destroyed by the USPS. Bummer.

TNR 4/30/09

2009-05-03T21:36:00.003-05:00

Single track, beer, checked out Valleycat checkpoints, beer, ride, more beer.

Valleycat is coming up fast and we've got all tons of crap to give away so make sure you race.

V1 Coverage

2009-04-29T21:47:00.003-05:00

Betty wrote a little snippet about the Valleycat and posted our infamous first Valleycat start photo.

Link

Single Track Ride

2009-04-26T08:38:00.004-05:00

A grueling body destroying ride through Eau Claire's single track Thursday. Zacher ate it on Collarbone Ridge, I scratched my face up, it was awesome.

I'm also building up a new bike, yay!

Cayla's Last Ride

2009-04-20T20:06:00.003-05:00

So this week's ride was pretty awesome I guess. I turned around and went home early like always because I am a wuss. You can read more details on David's blog. Anyways, this Friday I'm working 2pm-10:30pm so I can ride all night long. Maybe I'll ride the Pugsley and we can hit some single track.

See ya later Cayla. Take pics with your ECVC patch all over.

In other news, I scored some "One Gear, More Beer" stickers to give away at the Valleycat.

TNR -4/9/09

2009-04-10T23:40:00.002-05:00

Good crew on this night. Rode out to Altoona and looped all the away around town where AG didn't break his fork this time. We went up and down every hill we could find on the way to the Riverview park island. Dan hauled on the hills on his racked mountain bike like a beast. I cyclocrossed it up some steps. The ride looked to be going downtown when I broke off to catch my Z's. Good time. See everyone next week for Cayla's Last Ride.

You forget....

2009-04-03T15:52:00.003-05:00

Also worth mentioning: Total rider count: 15

cursed

2009-04-03T09:26:00.002-05:00

Ec velo rides the cursed trail tonight - the Chippewa River Trail. Every time it is a flat tire festival. Why, why, why? Glass, thorns, cursed.

The group rides past Caryville to a spot along the Chippewa River. All is dark. No one can see the briars: many casulties, almost lost some eyes. Fire time on the Chip. Peaceful, quiet, except for a bunch of billigerant bikers. No potable water, just beer. Then a quick-long ride back: three more flat tires, no joke. Much stargazing - getting cloudy now, though. Our clothes smell of campfire.

Beware, the ValleyCat is in the atmosphere.

ec velo spring formal

2009-03-26T22:16:00.003-05:00

1) we looked frickin snazz
2) Adam graced us dressed as a straight up newsie, cap and all
3) we dumpster dove for more chips than 8 people could ever make use of
4) anyone that thinks they would dig an ec velo t-shirt, chris z has the hookups so you need to let him or someone who knows him (which is like everyone) what size you want
5) We are excited to show off our duds at the bar. We are some dapper folk.
6) Ever heard of Doritos "collision?" It's like 2 chips, one bag, exploding in your mouth. I love it when things explode in my mouth.
7) mmmmm. beer.
8) The velo youth showed up, their blond hair and blue eyes are a true tribute to the fuhrer.
9) Is most definetly a number. The 9th number in fact.
10) Cycling when one cannot see in front of one's front wheel - it is, in fact, too dark - is truely a test of one's trust.
11) zacher just called, he might come over
12) it snowed during the spring formal!
13) weed pocket is on spring break while attending harvard university, he looks nerdy
14) good thing we didn't find a dead body in the dumpster
15) the first two people that arrive at bikehouse get to spend the night there; high risk, high reward

hardcore

2009-03-25T14:16:00.004-05:00

Dave posted twice today on his blog so I have to keep pace with him.

The real EC Velo got together this weekend for all sorts of cycling shenanigans. Saturday members meet up at the Army Navy store mid afternoon, purchased beverages, and kicked it along the Eau Claire river until the sun went down. While Derek was using his sense of taste enjoying a fine loaf of banana bread, Magyar decided to use his sense of touch and smell by poking a suspicious looking dark matter on the bottom of his shoe and proceeding to smell it. Weed pocket and water bottle were having their differences as usual but managed to get along cordially for the evening. Andy retired his "ghost ride the whip" trick after completing it perfecting while Zacher watched in awe.
Sunday was fun day as Chris, Andy, Cayla and Eric make the journey out to Big Falls Co. Park. The ride out was demoralizing as 2o mph winds were making their presence known. There we no downhills on the way there, fighting the wind was a constant battle. We even got to meet up with some real live roadies as we bumped into Overdrive Cycling Club. EC Velo and the roadies pedaled together for a couple of miles without any incidents. A dead deer was spotted along the rode outside a local tavern that had expensive off sale beer. We then relished in the sun's rays for hours on the rocks at Big Falls, stopped at Gordy's on the way back into town and prepared a falafel feast.

EC Velo spring formal tomorrow night 7-?, no RSVP necessary, look snazzy.

belated

2009-03-25T14:07:00.002-05:00

this is what happened on thursday night march 19, 2009:

lots of people showed up
messed around on campus for a while
rode through some neighborhoods
ended up near the mall
rode to mt. simon
built a small and manageable campfire at the top
hung out
departed and got crazy!

ec velo
beer=food

weak sauce

2009-03-13T02:50:00.003-05:00

The ride was hardcore tonight. We rode north-town to south town to Oakwook mall pyramid. Dan bent his bike frame. We ended up single-speeding his bike because his derailleur was twisted so bad. We had a big fire at the ECVC cave,now named ECVCC or ECVC squared. Then after a couple hours, Z man passed out on his feet at the Diamond Lounge. Awesome. Praire Fires all around. Then we are chillin at Andy's place and I forgot what I originally meant to write. What the hell?

He meant to mention the bad boys.... aka topperstix!

Italian for beer!

2009-03-05T22:49:00.002-06:00

first off, Andy has a beard and he showers sometimes. He also wears pants and shirts, and chews with his teeth. On a related note "Arrrrr Matey, I have an eye patch...". Twas a good night. A good ride. The warmth was welcome.

My butt is super wet because when you fall it doesn't like hurt, it's more like submerging yourself in water. Good thing it's not cold out. Zacher fell like 6 times. He gets mad that I'm counting though. Cory got a new hat that matches Zachers which is weird.

We biked up old wells road hill. Corey James suggested flying down it and biking up again. People thought he was joking. He wasn't. They did not go back down the hill. Andy popped a boner. He said, "Sometimes it just happens when you are having fun."

Zacher's nose bled. It was red.

The crew is rolling deep tonight. Vodka. Laffy Taffy. Jokes. Where do sick boats go? To the docks. Smith A. New Ingles, MO. Mixes well on the pallette. Not. Columbus discovered America. Not. Lots of crashes tonight. Ice everywhere. Andy: keep it up. My name is Andy. I have a beard; I am tall; I eat food and drink water. EC pass the computer.

So tonight was super duper fun. As we were bombing 3rd street south back into town we felt like we could be in any big city (due to the crane and sky line and all) it was such a fantastic scene. Tonight was extremely damp and foggy but as usual ec velo was able to handle anything that she throws at us. ecvc hearts partying!

Andy? Yeah, I think I've heard of him before... He's the guy who chews with his teeth right? I heard he drinks water and stuff too? He seems kind of wierd

hard fight

2009-02-26T23:22:00.004-06:00

tonight ruled. 8" of snow. we started on putnam trail and proceeded to bomb state st. and go to the liquor store where we got plenty of beer and peppermint schnapps (the essence of winter). We decided to hang out and drink @ rod & gun park. There should be a specific word to describe when the deep snow sucks your wheel in and drags you off course. Shredding the knar? no. The wind from the North was cold as we pulled: riding, slipping, walking. Down into the park our chainrings were drowned in the sheered white. I could just tell all our bikes were hating us for putting them through the torture of the entire drive drain being covered in fresh wet snow. The group was forced to do lots of walking tonight due to the poorly (or not at all) plowed streets, but some people were able to blaze the trail better than others. Ice cold beer was drank in the even colder and icier weather. it was a hard fought fight, but in the end the reigning champ (ec velo) was able to defeat mother nature once again.

learning to hang,
ecvc crew

watch out ec!!!!

2009-02-26T00:22:00.002-06:00

i've heard hopsy put together a fixed gear bicycle early last week and has been seen galavanting all over town. rumors have it he is even riding brakeless!

Seriously, the forecast for the 2/26 ride looks incredibly grim with snow predicted to fall all afternoon and night, so hopefully people show and we can make a go of it.

New Sheriff In Town

2009-02-26T00:15:00.003-06:00

Hey Guys,

DP graduated from the university, went into the real world, and "sold out" by getting a real job. Due do said job, he can no longer participate in the staple of EC Velo life that is the TNR (Thursday Night Ride). So when asked if I wanted to take over blogging duty, I responded with an enthusiastic positive response (check the FBook wall postings if you don't believe me). So, I am AG and here to keep things in (dis)order, with I'm sure, some support from others in ECVC, as well as DP.

Cordially,
AG

New Job

2009-02-22T19:02:00.003-06:00

Well, I started a new job. I'm tired. Training first shift. No more Thursday night rides for me for a while I'm sure. When I start my regular shift it will be M-F, 5-9. Maybe some nights I can meet up. I guess I need someone else to take over the blog and keep me filled in on the rides. I'll give authorship to anyone, I just need your info.

I went to Frostbike this weekend and hung out with Zagozen and two of the Revolution Cycles guys. He said he can get us some EC Velo t-shirts for $7 or hoodies for $20ish or something with a design that is yet to be made. Let him know if you're interested. He can do a plain color or a ringer t.

TNR - 2/12/09

2009-02-13T00:32:00.002-06:00

Nice weather, a little bit icy, which left it a bit dicey. Some streets were just caked in ice. I'd like to blame the city of Eau Claire for opting to save money at the cost of public safety by not plowing unless there is three inches of snow on the side streets. Magyar, Gerke, the new guy Wynn, and myself rode. Good ride. Went all over the west side.

Last two TNRs...

2009-02-06T12:29:00.002-06:00

This week we picked up a new kid for a little while. When we went off road he turned around. Oh well. The weather was nice. We checked out the Figures Bikes and Mud show at the Old Elbow Room Shop and kinda split up.

Last week was awesome. Zagozen was back in town, we had a good turn out, road all over the damn place, and then went to Scott's going away. Pretty awesome ride. Ask those that went for Stuporbowl stories.

TNR 1/22/09 - David's back!

2009-01-23T00:55:00.003-06:00

Magyar and I rode around a little bit, then we met David and others at the Joynt. David has been in Peru for the past month. Many EC Velo members were there and much beer was consumed. Next week we are going to ride for a couple hours then meet up at the Stone's Throw for Scott's going away. Be there!

TNR 1/14/09 - Cold

2009-01-16T01:47:00.002-06:00

Ride temp was about -10F when we started. When I got home it was -18F. Subtract off another 20 degrees in wind chill and well, it was cold. Magyar, Zachpuppet, and myself rode for a bit. Stopped at a few establishments. Got eyeballed but creepy old days. Earned more ECVC street cred. No pic for this ride. I thought of it... it was just damn cold but we still rode.

Cold TNR tomorrow, but still we ride

2009-01-14T22:32:00.003-06:00

So a high of -3F tomorrow. Overnight low of -23F. Some wind chill. It will be cold, but I mean, do you want to tell people that we ride every Thursday, or do you want to tell people we ride almost every Thursday except when it's really cold and stuff. I'd rather tell people that nothing can stop the ECVC. Just pull out.

TNR 1/8/09

2009-01-10T00:19:00.003-06:00

'Twas a bit chilly but Bryan, E Zach (haha), and I rode a bit anyways. Checked out the tree pile at Carson park and rode around the back. Took a break there, then rode around and ended up at the Joynt.

TNR Reminder

2009-01-07T14:33:00.002-06:00

TNR tomorrow. Daytime high of 13F, overnight low of 4F predicted. Looks like it'll be about 7F with minimal wind for the entire ride. That's really not bad. So show up and ride!

First Thursday Night Ride of the New Year....

2009-01-01T19:42:00.002-06:00

was a bust. Only I showed up. Come on people. It was pleasant sitting in the cold, listening to the hum of the sodium street lamps and the slight rumble of the river, but not as good as a bike ride. Hopefully attendance will be better next week.

If anyone in the ECVC wants authorship to this blog, let me know and I'll add you. I'll try to update after every TNR (Thursday Night Ride) and hopefully have a few pictures as well.