Bahati: Out of Compton TV Trailer
National Champion cyclist Rahsaan Bahati, has formed a foundation to help underprivileged youth the opportunity to chase their dreams and follow his footsteps. Here’s an excerpt from http://www.bahatifoundation.org:
“The Bahati Foundation works with local communities to provide inspiration, insight and opportunities for underprivileged youth through the sport of cycling. In conjunction with The Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team, Rahsaan Bahati presents his motivating story to youth and offers access to the team through structured fieldtrips. Each aspect of a professional cycling team is highlighted, explained and demonstrated to provide exposure into the world of cycling.”
Here’s a trailer for Bahati: Out of Compton, Season One (Rahsaan and the Bahati Foundation are doing a 3 season production deal to highlight the Foundation and Bahati Racing). It’s really inspiring to see Rahsaan visiting his alma mater, Crenshaw High, and helping the kids who are pretty much written off by that neighborhood’s reputation and how society sees them. Take a look:
To find the Bahati Foundation online, go to http://www.bahatifoundation.org.
To follow Bahati Racing, go to http://www.bahatiracing.com
KENDA Pro Cycling p/b GEARGRINDER Ride – February 28th
Just found out about a cool event taking place here in Woodstock, GA on February 28th. Here’s the details:
KENDA Pro Cycling presented by GEARGRINDER Ride with Frankie and Team VO2 testing presented by Lifetime Fitness! 4 pros, Frankie Andreu and Team GM, Chad Thompson will be at the Mountain Brook Life Time Fitness facitlity on Sunday February 28. The day will have many attractions, including all of the guys riding the public LTF ride with all of you!
Schedule below (tentative):
10:30 – 11:00 AM Team arrival (1st rider VO2 test starts warm up)
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM VO2 testing 20min per rider (4-6 riders)
1:00 – 3:00 PM Club/Public ride (35 Miles)
3:00 -3:30 PM Food in Café and showers (for team)
3:30 – 4:00 PM Q&A with Andreu,Thompson and riders
4:30- N/A Enjoy the club!
(Direct link to this post can be found at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=296967257239&ref=mf)
I plan on being there for the entire day to do some photos/interviews/articles for VeloReviews.com. If anyone wants to join us on the ride, please feel free to contact me at probikewrench@gmail.com. You can also find the team on Facebook, Twitter, and at their Team Website, which is located at http://www.kendaprocycling.com.
Stay tuned for more information about this and other possible surprise events coming soon!
“So Close” – A Cycling Haiku
Sprinting on my bike
Poised to take the victory
Missed it by a hair
Bike Magazine’s New Editor is…
… Joe Parkin. The celebrated author of “A Dog in a Hat,” and seasoned professional road/mountain/cyclocross racer, has just taken the Editor’s position at Bike Magazine.
His first book was an amazing piece of work. It was a great reflection of what actually happened in the drug-ridden European road racing scene, especially in the fast-paced world of Kermesse (kermis) racing. Having always fantasized about racing on the cobbles of Northern France/Belgium, and training in the rain and under constant gray skies, just to give myself the designation of “flahute,” Joe’s book was a refreshing addition to my library of cycling books.
After becoming obsessed with Twitter, I discovered Joe Parkin is a user also. If you get a chance, you should follow him there at http://twitter.com/joeparkin. We’ve become casual Twitter-buddies over the last year or so. I am constantly bugging him to hurry up with his elusive “Book #2,” which I heard is entitled, “Come & Gone.” I can’t wait until it’s out… bound to be packed with a lot more of the same great writing that Joe’s first book had. I’ve read that one three times while waiting for the new book. Joe also writes frequently on his blog, “6 Years in a Rain Cape.“ Good stuff. Check it out if you want a good read or if you’ve got a question about the pro racing lifestyle.
I’m sure Joe’s work at Bike Magazine will be equally impressive, if not (dare I say it…) BETTER than the work he has published already. Congratulations, Joe, on the new gig. We’re all rooting for you.
Cane Creek Headset Fit Finder
(Cross-posted at http://www.veloreviews.com)
VeloReviews Podcast #2
Last night, the Four Horsemen (actually, 3 Horsemen and a Horsewoman… myself, David Bernstein of “The FredCast,” Jeff Helfand – VeloReviews Founder, and Jen Moore, Women’s Editor) recorded the second installation of the VeloReviews Podcast. My segments included an interview with Brian Dallas, Tech Rep for Focus Bikes, and a series of questions from listeners regarding tool selection for a 50 mile ride, internal headset compatibility, the resurgence of steel frames and their possible inclusion in the Tour de France/pro peloton, and should or should you not use singlespeed bikes as training tools.
We had a great time recording it, and we hope everyone enjoys the Podcast. There are prizes for the VeloReviews.com Photo Caption Contest every week and I also get to choose the “Question of the Week” in my second segment. This week’s winner gets a safety identification bracelet provided by Road ID.
Download it on iTunes by clicking here. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support!
Chrome Bags on Slacker…
Just spotted an ad for one of PROBIKEWRENCH.COM’s “unofficial sponsors,” Chrome Bags. Here’s what it looked like:
Check them out by clicking the link above or the link in the sidebar.
Catch-Up Time
I’m currently waiting on a Left-Coaster for a Skype interview for the next VeloReviews Podcast (set to record on Sunday night), so I’ve got a few spare minutes to write a bit about what’s up, what’s been up, and what will be up soon. Here goes…
I don’t think I did a thorough enough report from the Masters BG Fit Course I recently took at Specialized Bicycle Company. It was awesome! I went through the Basic BG Fit Course around two years ago, but applied the science as much as I should have. After attending this latest course, I realized that as a bike fitter, I’m in an elite group of folks from around the world… those who really understand (or try to…) the biomechanics of a rider’s body as it relates to cycling. The SBCU staff, along with some of the staff from the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, have improved the curriculum over the past two years to include even more strength, flexibility, and range of motion tests to advance the science of bike fitting even more. If you’re not using BG Fit or having your fits done by a BG Fit Technician, you’re probably not getting the most precise fit possible.
In the past two weeks, since returning from Specialized, I’ve done more BG Fits than I’ve done in the past 6 months. I attribute that mostly to advertising with social media and on the shop’s website. Today, I did a fit with a customer who saw DRASTIC changes take effect immediately by making minor adjustments. He could see exactly why I was making the changes, and how it related to the physical tests I had just performed. It’s really cool to see a good bike fit done correctly, especially when the customer feels the difference before they leave the shop.
We’ve also been dealing with a new point of sale system at the shop. It’s a great POS System, but we’re having problems with integrating it with our distributors’ databases. This means we enter in every single item and SKU by hand, rather than importing all the information to the system. The system is advanced, but it’s more advanced than what our distributors are doing. It doesn’t seem like it’s paying for us to be ahead of the curve on this one. It’s nothing we can’t handle, however. We’re getting the job done, like we always do.
I’m working on a new club format at Out Spokin’. Instead of having everyone listed on our Masters Team roster, we’re planning on having a separate club structure with a membership fee, club jersey, and product discount attached. This will keep the team as “the team,” and have our “club guys/gals” doing their own thing, whether riding casually, racing, or whatever. I think it will be a popular program, as most cycling junkies want to belong to something like a club… and who doesn’t want a discount, however big or small?
We’ve also got an additional way of finding our shop on the internet. You can also access the Out Spokin’ Website by typing:
http://www.thebestbikeshopintheuniverse.com
It’s official. We’re the best. That proves it, right?
I’m trying to catch up on the writing for VeloReviews.com. I’ve had a lot going on lately with travel, Mom’s fight with cancer, and work, so I haven’t had a lot of time to keep the pen to the paper (or fingers to the keyboard) like I should. I’ve got a couple of product reviews in the works, but haven’t had a lot of time (or good weather) to field test them. I’m also chasing down interviews with industry folks for my segment on the VeloReviews Podcast, so if you’ve got a topic or suggestion, please contact me at josh@veloreviews.com.
I haven’t made a push for $$$ lately, so here it is: I need to raise more funds for my LIVESTRONG Challenge Ride in Philadelphia in August. My TEAM PROBIKEWRENCH goal is $25,000 and my personal goal is $10,000. It’s not only to raise money to fight cancer, it’s to help me cope with my Mom’s cancer, as well. I don’t really have a good outlet to get my feelings out about the fact that my Mom is suffering from this disease, so that’s how I’m going to do it. If you could chip in even a few bucks, please visit the TEAM PROBIKEWRENCH PAGE.
Gotta run for now. It’s 1am EST (funny how I use time zones, since I deal with folks on the West Coast a lot now), and I’ve got to hit the hay. Probably going to be a busy day at the shop tomorrow, with the wet and wintry weather we’re supposed to get… NOT. Still pretty late, anyways. I need as much “beauty sleep” as I can get.
Make that…
#2. The VeloReviews Podcast passed “Guntalk’s Podcast” today. “ESPN:Action Sports” had better watch out!
