🏷️ bikes

Tour de Farms was way colder than last year, but still pretty awesome. @terry and I left in the morning, and met up with @YesThatCasey for the urban farm portion. @paul rested up in bed during the morning.


Terry and I had to dress warm and sporty. It got warmer later though.

Ever since I replaced the chasis on my phone, the pictures are so blurry and overexposed. I think the lens plastic isn't as good.

Wilson Street urban farm. They have 25 lots and the one owner has a pretty intense beard.

The MAP chickens. I don't want to eat them but they're cute enough that I want to raise one.

This weird house in Elma had a garden of bald eagle status. 'Merica

You weren't supposed to pick the flowers at Ole's farm this year. Everyone who did got yelled at.

The food was really good this year. We had wraps from Ashker's for lunch, and I got bean salad and corn for dinner. Warning for next year, the potato salad has bacon in it.


Paul woke up at noon to pick up Casey after he got a flat. He raced out to Alden on his bike and we got to drink beer and eat with him.


I got to track Paul's Tour de suburb on the way over with Google+.

Friday night we were going to go swim at the quarry, but @paul had a migraine and broken back. So while he rested up Terry and I went on a bike ride.


Terry warned me not to sit on my nuts


Later we stopped at Coles to hang out with Emily and Carrie, who's back for now.

The classiest finger.

Terry helped Emily's friend Annie develop her idea to bring fanny packs back with an artisan etsy style approach. It'll be called Annie's Fannies.

Tonight @YesThatCasey, @paul, @terry and I went on the slow roll ride.
For August it merged with the Buffalo bike party that was so awesome in June. This ride was not as fun as the party ride - we stopped way too much. They should have corked the intersections and gotten everyone through rather than waiting at every light. Other than that it had a good turn out and amazing weather for it.

The route ran from the new bike-bar Handlebar on Swan Street, down to the Central Terminal, up to MLK Park and then back downtown to Handlebar. Terry was weirded out and said it was cultural tourism - a crowd of outsiders rolling through rough neighborhoods in Buffalo to gape. I see his point, but maybe that is too cynical - I think it also gives a chance for people not from these neighborhoods to see that there's more to them than their stereotypes. For example Paul had never seen the beautiful houses on Northhampton or the new splashpad at the park.

The splashpad was freaking awesome to ride around.

Terry went home, but we continued on to Handlebar with Kerry. The bar was awesome and they did a real nice job on the new building. It's attached to this expensive bike shop - Paul wanted this white and gold fixie. Very eye-talian.




















The bike company Campanaglo will sell you this wine opener for a cool $225

Last night while @paul and @terry were at a wedding, I decided to go on a bike ride with @YesThatCasey, @libertad, and our new ginger Joe friend. We rode around for a little bit before deciding to go on the new First Friday party ride.

It was really awesome. Henry from GObike just started it last month. He had a gigantic speaker in a kid's trailer to provide music. We started at Colonial Circle, rode down through the west side, up to the bike path and rose garden, and finished down at the Liberty Hound. There we met Kerry before riding home to meet Paul and Terry.

I can't wait for next month's ride. Every first friday of the month at 8pm, Colonial Circle.

The same guy that made @paul's robot shirts was chalking at the Allen Street First Friday



The theme for the ride was Hawaiian shirts and leis - the leis were pot leaves







The bike parking garage

@paul, @terry, @YesThatCasey and I rode the GObike sky ride today. Casey and I volunteered for the preregistration and setup.

The day was perfect for a ride. The skyway itself was a anticlimactic but still very cool.

The ride was about 28 miles, and Paul managed to make it the whole way. I was proud.

We got back from camping, rested a bit, and headed out for a bike ride down to the Canal and up the riverwalk.

On the Riverwalk/190 overpass, right after the tunnel we heard someone yelling. All of the sudden, this kid comes flying around the corner on his bike way too fast. He nicks @YesThatCasey's bike and slams head first into Terry's chest.

It was terrifying. @terry was scraped but up and walking quickly while the kid took a while longer. Besides asking if he needed help I didn't know what to do. The kid said he was fine, and when I asked him about his bike's broken brakes, he said he they haven't been working. It seems so behindert that he would go flying down an incline like that with no brakes - if he didn't hit Terry he would have gone head first into a concrete wall.

The kid didn't want any help and rode off. Poor Terry hurt his knee and sprained his hand - I guess it could have been worse.

Afterwards, we cut the ride short to get groceries and make dinner at home. We grilled, had corn on the cob, cheesy potatoes and white bean hummus. I was so full.




QVC is commericalizing the commercial slip

$1 million Hatch renovation
Missed connections

Every morning this week, Rick's, Campus Wheelworks and Sweetness 7 have been giving away bagged lunches for bike week. Very awesome. The Rick's bag reminds me of an elementary school lunch. The sandwich is a PB&J on a hamburger roll.

They also give you a coupon for a dollar off of anything at Cafe 59 for each day you get a lunch.



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Thursday, it was absolutely amazing out. So after @terry got home, we went over to meet up with @YesThatCasey for a night ride. We explored Black Rock a little before getting on to the Riverwalk, which we took up to Tonawanda(city). It felt like a summer ride. Thankfully it was night so we missed most of the toxic air pollution along the river.


Almost derailed the train


On the way back we rode through Ken-Ton. @paul had gotten home from a work party and was with his friend Tim. Total betrunken aber spass.


We stopped at this Tops before we turned around. These cookies are a thing.

Tim was wearing a New York Liberty WNBA hat (not sure why I know of any WNBA teams)

Wednesday I got home and went on Rick's Cycle shop new weekly ride. (6pm in front of Rick's). Not many people showed up at first, but by 6:30 we had a decent number of riders plus Rick's employees.

The ride was a super relaxed pace - we averaged about 12mph. Everyone riding was super streberhaft but that made it awesome. One guy I run into on my commute a lot was there - Dave. He wears two cameras on top of his helmet, plus has four times as many lights as I do. Out-nerded.

We rode up around to the cemetary, through the park to the riverwalk, and down to Canalside, where a Rick's employee bought everyone a round of beer at the Liberty Hound. After I rode back and hungout while @terry, @heidi, @Dianne and Meredith gamed.




My name is on that wall!

The mixture of a nice day, smell of the canal and sewage treatment plant almost made me want to row again.

Bike month is almost here.

So the rumors were true, there is going to be a ride on the skyway on May 31st (the day after Buffalo's only critical mass).
It's kind of expensive at $40 a pop for GOBike members but it's a really good fundraising idea. I'm planning on volunteering, if anyone else wants to, it gets you on the ride and a free beer.
You can sign up here.

If only we could get a www.worldnakedbikeride.org in June. It sounds ridiculous but I feel like it'd be so fun. Henry from GoBike said there might be one. Maybe I should start a facebook event for it - if we have enough people you can't be arrested right?



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