It is snowing!

Be careful if you're planning on commuting. Take the corners slow and watch out for cars sliding all over the place!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday Night Recap (11/11)

WE GOT PULLED OVER! WHAT?!

It was actually the second time I have been pulled over by that same cop for riding my bike on Grand River. The first time I got a ticket. This time he just tried to run us over, nbd. Not exactly model behavior by a police officer.

Anyway, it was a pretty awesome ride otherwise. We had a good turnout: Ben, Tae, James, Gus, Brad, Jake, Robby, and two new friends Josh and Matt.  Josh and Ben wowed us with their bar-spinning. We hit-up the skatepark briefly before cruising downtown.  The streets were empty so we did a couple of laps of the capital.  James named one of his tricks (standing on the downtube while riding no-handed); considering what might have happen had he fallen it is called the "Jesus."

The group (minus Brad, Ben, and Josh) came back to my house following our run-in with Johnny Law. We celebrated a fun semester of riding with a couple of beers.

I think that this ride should be the official end of fall semester riding.  If we get any more good nights, we'll head out.  I'll send out messages via the facebook group "Michigan State Fixies."

Thursday (11/11/10)

This might be one of the last rides of the season!

Meet on top of the Wharton @ 9pm!

And Then There Were Two... (Thursday 11/4/10 Recap)

Tae and I set off into the bitter November wind; Old Town was our destination. Turning North, we were met with a violent wind. I can sympathize with the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  Hopefully we'll get at least one more good ride this season.

If you're thinking about commuting by bike this winter, post some ideas on the Michigan State Fixie page on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=112056015484560

I've never done a dedicated winter of commuting, so I'm looking for good info (which tires, fenders, etc).

Thursday Night Ride This Week (11/4/10)

GAME ON! Let's go for it and ride this week. It'll probably be pretty cold, but who cares?! Meet on top of the Wharton @ 9pm.

The Results Are In!

It was a good showing, especially considering how cold it was.  The field was comprised of: Tim, EJ, Andrew, Cory, James, Jake, Robby, Gus, and Rhone. 

Rhone won the Race in a time of 43min 27sec with Jake merely seconds behind. Everyone finished within 15min of Rhone. Nice job guys!

Our new friend Cory dominated the Track-stand with a demonstration of his balancing prowess. I did my best to outlast him, but nothing could distract him.
...
I did put up a good show in the skidding event, out sliding my competitors by a good 25ft. It was a good showing by all though.
 

Afterward, Rhone demonstrated his sportsmanship by passing out the beer he had just won to the top 6 finishers in the race. It was a great night and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. Get ready for more alleycats this spring!

Ridiculous! 130 tooth chainring / 15 tooth cog

Here is his story http://cycling.ahands.org/bicycling/datewithdeath.html

Alleycat Update (Thursday 28th @ 9pm on top of the Wharton Center Parking Garage)

The Alleycat is on! I spoke with one of the organizers of the Lansing Outdoors club and an active ally of the MSU Outdoors club. He was going to host a Critical Mass ride on Friday, but decided to attend out Alleycat and bring some friends.  The word is getting out. If YOU have any friends that are interested, by all means bring them!

In case you are interested, the prizes and categories are as follows:

Race: A six-pack of beer and your choice between a set of lights (front and rear) OR some sweet Lizard Skin handlebar tape.

Skid Competition: A brand new ThickSlick Duraskin tire

Track Stand Competition: Either the Lights or the Lizard Skin (whatever is left over from the race).

The skid competition is only open to fixed-gear riders (sorry everyone else).  The track stand competition and obviously the race are open to everyone.  Remember to wear costumes!

Thursday Night Recap (10/21)

It was a pretty chilly 40°f, but James, Gus and Tae showed up ready to cruise. We rode up and down Abbott Rd and Grand River Ave weaving through cars and bar-goers. East Lansing was buzzing with weekend fever, so there was a big audience for James to impress with his long-ass wheelies.

We quickly grew tired of campus and decided to ride out to the Frandor parking lot to mess around. Upon our arrival I had the idea to see if the skate park was open....It was, and it was awesome! We hit the berms and vert walls and quickly discovered that pedal strikes were a definite problem.  Despite a few mishaps, we had a short game of follow-the-leader.  It is definitely something we are going to do again.

Next week is the Halloween Alleycat.  There will be a race, a skid competition, and a track-stand anti-race.  I will be handing out prizes for first place in each; they will most likely be beer, a thickslick tire, and some blinky-lights (respectively). 

Halloween Alleycat: Thursday October 28th

I will be hosting a Costumed Alleycat in honor of Halloween on Thursday Oct. 28th.  The time has yet to be determined. 

Thursday Night Rides

We cruise around campus and d'town Lansing every Thursday night at 10pm.  The group rides out from the Spartan Statue by Dem Hall.  We generally ride to one of the parking structures on campus and if we have time we'll ride downtown to the Capitol Building and the Hall of Justice. 

Feel free to show up for any part of that.

Don't forget to find us on Facebook at the "Michigan State Fixies" group.