Candy Cranks

This weekend is the Bicycle Film Festival in New York City, and in addition to lots of rad people being in town for the event, there are some really amazing films that I’m stoked to see. Unfortunately I have to work for most of the weekend, but the after parties are always in full swing, and the block party tomorrow afternoon should be a really fun event!

For the full event list (including film screening details and party locations, etc.) you can hop on over to the BFF site and check it all out there.

If you see me out lurkin’ come say hello!

Hand-made wooden bike shelf by UrbanCityBikeShelves on Etsy.com

I believe it was Meg that posted another bike shelf back in September–this piece is obviously similar in design, but comes in a lower price-point ($149 versus $270 for the Knife and Saw version). Both shelves come in Walnut, but UrbanCityBikeShelves also come in Maple and Cherry.

Living in New York where space is at such a premium, I’d love to try one of these shelves out. Sadly, living in a rail-roaded apartment means that pretty much every wall I have is too narrow to even lean a bike against! I’m also a bit skeptical that I’d knock everything off the shelf every time I grabbed my bike in a rush. Curious to see if any of you have had any experience with a similar product?

This Saturday, March 26th brings the fourth annual Red Hook Criterium, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally see it! The race takes place in the mainly-deserted, post-industrial neighborhood (read: horribly neglected streets) of Red Hook, Brooklyn, and unlike most [alleycat] races in the city, it begins at 11:00PM. A little bit about the Crit, from their website:

Track bikes are mandatory and the field consists of elite level roadies, bike messengers, and urban cyclists. The race distance is 20 laps around a .75 mile circuit which features several hairpin turns, a technical chicane, a cobblestone stretch, and a sprint finish.

According to the Red Hook Crit Twitter, they’ve expanded the registration to include 85 riders so far, with 7 open spots for registration still available. Cyclists from all over the world are slated to compete, and the prize list is impressive to say the very least. Fingers crossed for a few female competitors!

Cinelli’s blog featured an in-depth interview with David Trimble (founder and organizer of the race) back in February. If you’re at all curious about the event–or can’t make it on Saturday–I’d suggest popping over there for a quick read. In my own (admittedly limited) race experience, it looks like an extremely unique event, and I can’t wait to watch.

There’s also a group ride down to Red Hook prior to the race, being organized by Mike Spriggs of Gage+DeSoto (who also happen to be exclusively carrying this sweet Red Hook Crit t-shirt). For more details on the group ride, check out Gage+DeSoto’s entry here.

I’ll be there cheering along and taking tons of photos, if you come out and spot me on the Lurker, feel free to say hello!

By ilovedoodle — buy the print here on Etsy!

Just spotted this simple (yet elegant) illustration by Charmaine Olivia. Bicycles on the brain! I think it would make a lovely tattoo design.

Conversation overheard between two NYC messengers this week:

“Hey dude, are you and your lady going to the Philly Bike Formal? And what the heck is this important ‘corsage’ thing I keep hearing about?”

“A corsage is basically an expensive bracelet made of flowers.”

“Wow, really? I thought it was some sort of wacky outdated bike part I’d never heard of before.”

Fancy flowers aside, the 7th annual PBMA Winter Bike Formal is coming up this weekend in Philadelphia and it promises to be a ton of fun!  It starts Saturday, February 19th at 7PM with a group ride (during which everyone should be adorned in their best formal wear) and ends in a giant party at the M-Room from 9pm-2am. According to the invite, you can expect “raffle prizes, drink specials, guest bartenders, midnight champagne toast, [prom] King and Queen, best dressed, and a special photo booth provided by DemonCats.com.”

If you’ll be around Philly this weekend but can’t make it to the formal on Saturday (or if you just want to burn off some calories before attempting to squeeze into your old prom dress), there will also be a pre-formal alley cat and goldsprints on Friday night.

Now go dust off those sparkly shoes and please be careful not to get any chiffon stuck in your chain!