Candy Cranks

Hi CandyCranks, long time no see!

If any of you spend much time in the Seattle cycling community, you probably know Sylvie Janecek. She has organized/volunteered at many Seattle bike events, from the Seattle Bicycle Music Festival to the 2010 Seattle Tweed Ride, and is an incredibly awesome human being. I have had the honor of calling her a dear friend for some years.
Her bike was stolen last night (this morning?). She received this bike as part of her insurance payment after being hit by a car, and it is incredibly dear to her. Please keep an eye out for it? Description below.

Oh, and a reward? I’ll buy you a beer and some nachos at the Elysian!
XO,
Nova

———- Forwarded message  from Sylvie ———-

Here’s a better description of the stolen bike and her photo. Please disseminate widely. And please help me search Craigslist and all other places people might try to re-sell the bike. Will file a police report in the morning.

My bike / means of transportation / favorite thing ever was stolen tonight out from in front of my friend Colleen’s house tonight. She was U-locked to a pole, on Belmont & Howell, between 7:30pm – 11:30 pm.

She’s a maroon Masi (brand) Randonneur (model) with cream decals, 2009, tan handlebar tape, leather saddle, toe cages on the pedals, a sticker that says “The Youth Die Young” on the frame by the headset and several spoke cards in the wheels, drop bars with bar-end shifters, 56 cm frame, rear rack with a trailer attached to the frame. Serial #380909167.

Here’s a write-up with a photo: http://www.stolenbicycleregistry.com/showbike.php?oid=10552

Please keep an eye out for her. If you see her, please lock her to something or confiscate her (if you can), and call me or the police. My number’s 619-861-7011.

Shittiest feeling ever. Sucks balls.

Crap.

– Sylvie

–
“I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bicycle…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”  –Susan B. Anthony

“The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.” — Ann Strong, Minneapolis Tribune, 1895

Abandoned vagabond-bike at the Seattle Ferry Terminal. The next day we saw a rather grizzled man riding around another bike that was set up exactly the same way! I’m surprised I didn’t see them at the Dead Baby Downhill.

Safety third!

It’s almost here, we’re all so excited! This year I’m not sure if I’ll be riding the Downhill, but I’ll be at the finish line, medicking injuries and admiring freak bikes a-plenty.

Last year was a blast. Cycle-powered carnival rides from Cyclecide, bands, kegs, and of course, LOTS OF BIKES and awesome friends!

I put a basket on the front of my geared bike. It’s not my daily ride, but it has its uses.

Like hauling beer…

Seattle Street Medics Collective is putting together a first aid and self-care zine and accompanying training for cyclists, and we’re super-stoked! Read an excerpt here.

Do you carry a first aid kit with you? What do you carry? In addition to my ever-utilitarian pocket knife (hooray for spontaneous picnics!), I also usually carry some variation of the following:

4×4 sterile non-adhesive pads
surgical wash
triple antibiotic ointment
wound salve (comfrey/calendula/lavender/
sage in beeswax/olive)
sunblock stick
tweezers
gauze
safety pins
various small bandaids
diphenadramine (benadryl – antihistamine)
moleskin
lighter (for sterilization)
nitrile gloves
medical tape
ibuprofen
tea
nail clippers
sewing needle (for splinters)
emergency $$ for a cab ride home
orca card (like a bus or rail pass, but prepaid for $$ amt)
tampons (good for nosebleeds, puncture wounds, gunshots, AND periods!)

I also used to carry a tiny shot-sized amount of “emergency chaser” whiskey, but  I’m real clumsy, so that got used up real fast. The zine should be printed and available at the Seattle Anarchist Bookfair, August 21 and 22 at Vera. Stop by and say hi!

Ride safe,

N*

This is so beautiful:

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’ve also been lusting after these:

Right now these are only available as frames (the She-Devil has been pushed out to August).  So how would you build each of these up?

Yesterday morning I received the following email from a friend:

Hi,

So we were on our way home after pedaling the new pedal powered parade float through the big gay parade, when the master link on the drive chain from the back three pedalers broke.

So the float is parked in a 24-hour parking garage and we are putting together a new crew to pedal home when Colin replaces the master link today. Pedalers will get a Central Co-op gift card and love, in addition to slack-jawed stares and whoops from astonished passers-by.

BUT! i’m trapped in jury duty right now. i expect to be kicked out once they realize what a crackpot i am but who knows?

Please reply to me if you want to get on board and i will communicate soon.

Sounds like an adventure, right?! So of course I said “I’m IN!” The rest of the day at work was spent excitedly bouncing around the office and grinning, waiting for the adventure to begin. I’d seen some of Colin’s creations at various other events like the Dead Baby Downhill, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the pedal-powered float.

After getting a cup of my favorite mango tea at Trabant, I set off for the parking garage at 3rd & Stewart. Upon arrival, I sighted the pedal-powered float on the 2nd story of the parking garage, but I couldn’t figure out how to gain egress without encountering a lot of very mindless drivers streaming up and down the narrow corkscrew ramps of the garage. Thankfully, the attendant gave me directions to the elevator around the corner, and my puzzle was solved.

My co-pedalers and I hung around, laughing and talking while waiting for Haulin Colin to arrive with a new Master Link to replace the broken one. He brought three, “just in case!” Finally, the broken link was replaced and we were ready to roll.

We loaded up our bikes on the back and secured them, tucked bags in, set up the cd player on full volume, and took our places. As the shortest pedalers, Kashina and I took the outer two front seats, and our co-pedalers filled in around us. Colin at the wheel: “It’s just like driving a regular manual transmission, but only 3 speeds, and the clutch is a little different.” I laughed hardest at this–I’ve never had a driver’s license, and I find myself very clumsy at the task of steering anything remotely car-like!

Each seat on the float is nicely set-up with toe clips/straps, a water bottle holder (or two!) and within an arms reach of a nice loud bell. Joe and I rang ours with impunity at first, then only when we were changing lanes, or to catch the attention of pedestrians, or just to celebrate…okay, we rang the bell a lot, it was fun!

After coasting down the corkscrew ramp, we paid the parking garage attendant and we were off. Pedestrians stopped in the middle of crosswalks to take pictures, giggle, and point. Other cyclists passed us, shouting encouragement and laughing. As we made our way up the hill, people were walking faster than we were inching along, so some folks would walk a few blocks up the hill in order to get a better picture.

One cyclist couldn’t believe his eyes, I thought he was going to crash as he looked over his shoulder at us again and again. Finally, he pulled off and took a picture without plowing his pretty grey and orange SS commuter into a line of parked cars.

I expected to get a lot of angry honks from cars, but people mostly just gave us waves and smiles and shouted nice things out their windows: “You’re awesome! You can do it! You’re almost there!” and gave us a wide berth, despite the fact that we were crawling through downtown/Capitol Hill at rush hour.

We passed two police officers and Web explained that we were just taking a Pride parade float home from downtown. They just waved us on, which was good–Seattle PD has been under fire recently for their use of unnecessary force, as well as overt racism, but I digress.

After getting over I-5, we started to get hot and tired, but we were only a third of the way there. We started imploring passersby, “bring us beer! cupcakes! ice cream! custard!” whatever we passed. Finally, someone heard our cry and brought us refreshment as we pedaled thru the tree-filled triangle park at Pike & Madison, nearly to the crest of the hill.

Coasting down the hill to the Union Street Farm we hit top speed, >30 MPH–that’s ~50 kilometres an hour! Colin deftly maneuvered us to landing without bumping into anything, and our exhausted and sweaty arrival was met with applause and shouts of congratulations.

All in all, an exhilarating and fun way to spend a Monday evening, and I giggled the whole exhausted ride home–tho Cheasty Boulevard has never seemed quite so long or steep. Much thanks to Web and Colin for the opportunity to wheel their amazing collaborative contraption! I’m already looking forwards to future pedal-float events. Sadly, my camera was at home charging its constantly-drained battery, but Byron over at Bikehugger was kind enough to upload a video. Maybe some other Seattle cyclists caught some pics? I’ll add them to the post if you leave a link in the comments!

Keep the rubber side down,

Nova*