MISSION CRIT 2016

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Trackbike criterium’s are fast becoming the premier race format in urban cycling, eclipsing alleycats as the preferred proving ground for young racers. As racing shifts from unsanctioned street races to well organized and supported criterium’s it is comforting to be a part of San Francisco’s own homegrown race. The Mission Crit just closed out their 3rd successful race in as many years right in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. Starting in a parking lot with a handful of die hard racers and fans, the Mission Crit has grown to attract high level racers from across the United States and around the world.

Photo: Mike Martin
Words: Chas Christiansen

SCVDO RESPUBLICA SUPERIOREM

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to go out and race in the RESPUBLICA SUPERIOREM NON RECOGNOSCENS in Genoa Italy.  The guys of SCVDO GENOVA (pronouced “scudo” or shield in Italian) had been planning this ripper of a brakeless alleycat for some time now.  They wanted to show racers THEIR Genoa,  the streets, the dirt, the climbs and the cuts, the routes that get them stoked.  The 58K, 8 checkpoint race with over 1K of climbing took racers through dense traffic, desolate dirt trails and sweeping descents down narrow Italian roads.  Racers from all over Europe both messengers and rippers alike gathered last Saturday to shred Genoa on their brakeless track bikes.  All photo’s by Francesco Bartoli Avveduti  @whoisfrabba

8 checkpoints in order, every checkpoint had a real live person at it! Which from a racers standpoint especially a lost out of towner is amazing!!!

The SCVDO boys gave a suggested route,  but encouraged any and all shortcuts.

There was a lot of discussion at the start about routes as racers from different cities and countries tried to figure out the fastest cut.

The race started right on the water in the historic dock area of Genoa,  since it was a Saturday racers had to navigate a crush of pedestrians on their way out.

Alessandro Bruzza of Cinelli Chrome is a Genoa native and came out to show us a thing or two about his home town streets.

The field held together early on as we navigated 3 checkpoints in the urban crush of Genoa.

Themis Antoniadis a Greek messenger from Athens braved an airport strike to make it out to the race!

Daniele a messenger of Bici Courier and the racing team WEED DELIVERY out of Milan kept it cutty in the streets.

Lollo Capella also of Bici Couriers and Team Weed Delivery in Milan missed the skitch Danielle got but caught back up at the next checkpoint.

Wilis from Deluxe Cycles in New York came out with me to shred around!!  Great to travel with good friends!

Turkish Airlines decided to leaved my bike at SFO, luckily I was able to borrow Vito from SVCDO’s new LOW pursuit frame for the race!  It had uncut riser bars on it and I had a blast from the past bombing hills on his set-up!!

After the dirt section only 3 of us remained in the lead group, Myself, Wilis and Andrea a messenger from Verona Italy.

After the climbs came the ripping descents down twisting narrow back roads!

Hydration is an important part of any bike race.

After the dirt and hills we were back into the heart of Genoa to rip through some traffic before the last climb.

While we are all competitors we are first and foremost friends,  here is the lead pack as we start up the final ascent.

Andrea got caught behind a bus and this allowed Wilis and I to make a move up the climb.

Sweeping views of Genoa helped keep our minds off our screaming legs!

Matteo of TVRBO GENOA was hot on our tails chasing hard!

Andrea never gave up and continued his pursuit, always within sight of us.

Themis had got some MOVES and was constantly pushing the limits, especially on the final descent trying to chase up.

The DIY ethos was in full effect as many riders ripped the dirt on their track bikes for the first time!

The raced ended at the Piazza della Vittoria.

Mattia of Genoa celebrates his finish, trying to battle beer with Sprtiz!

Wilis took home the Win!! I got 2nd and Andrea got 3rd! Themis and Lollo rounded out the podium with 4th and 5th.  Huge thanks to Vito and Stephano of SCVDO for keeping the stoke alive and throwing this amazing race!  Look for a short video next week and mark the date for next year!!

Animate

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https://vimeo.com/161569939

Ariel Belziti is an animator in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He added some effects to some of our shots from the full length video. Check it out!

STUPOR BOWL 2016

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Stupor Bowl in its 19th year is the longest running and largest alley cat in North America. Taking place in Minneapolis during the coldest part of winter, 300+ messengers / bike nerds make their way to race and prove their drinking capibilities in either one of two race categories- Speed or Stupor.


It Was really rad to see everyone and super hyped to have finished top 15 in the stupor category, I really lucked out with the weather this year but none the less it proved to be one hell of a time. The midwest always shows me a good time. Shoutout to all the race organizers and sponsors for making this jammer happen every year. 10/10 would go again. -SEAN

GSC: WHITE

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John and Kyle posted a very nice build from the Work frames we developed with Chas and Cinelli. By only offering frame sets we commit to a custom approach to building bikes, and seeing how frames are approached from so many directions re-affirms our vision. The detail work on this production frame set is understood by the mechanic, the photographer, and the rider. Personally, the Sugino 75’s strike a cord with me. All of the bikes we have developed with Cinelli have been single speed up to this point. A rider can take parts from a track bike and build a SSCX/FGCX, commuter, trainer, or city bike. These Sugino 75’s with rotational wear are a symbol of this story. Ride what you have. Break it, replace it. Thanks for sharing. Check their full spec at Golden Saddle, and The Radavist sites. Have a fun weekend!

RIDE ALONG WITH CHELSEA WEIDINGER

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“I’d already set the goal in my head that I was going to be the first girl on MASH. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but it’s going to happen.” – Chelsea Weidinger
Jen wrote a nice interview with Chelsea over at The Radavist. Check in for the full story!

OAKLEY MASH 10 YEAR FROGSKIN

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Our final collaboration celebrating 10 years, is with Oakley. Never could I have imagined we could collaborate with these innovators, but here we are. The Oakley MASH Frogskins are an everyday frame, intensely durable, and treated in our colors , lens etch, and micro bag for the occasion. As a photo/videographer, I make an effort to protect my eyes, and feel so lucky to have that protection from legends. Limited to 85 pieces to the public, and going quick.

PATH: ERIK ZO

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Oh, how the years go by . . .
In 1976, when I was 11 years-old, I was given a 24” wheeled sew-up clad Frejus track bike. I had been racing on the road for 4 years starting with a 20” sew-up wheeled Legnano, next moving on to a Coppi with the same sized wheels. The road bike I was riding when I got the Ferjus was a 24” wheeled Coppi loaned to me by the Murphy Family. John W. Murphy, the head of the family, ran a bicycle importing company down on Shipley St. in SOMA. It’s where his three daughters and I played while the adults worked. Yeah… I grew up in a bike shop. John also started the bicycle coalition . . . and well, that led to The Golden Gate Bridge being open on the west side to bicycles and Golden Gate Park being closed on Sundays to cars. I also remember how the day after I got the Frejus, an old git came in on an orange Cinelli track bike clad with fenders and panniers. Out of his bags, he pulled out a stack of records and a bunch of cogs secured with a Binda toestrap, and said, “ Hey kid, now that you have a fixed gear, you need these”. The toe strap had inch pitch cogs on it from six teeth to eleven and half by eighth cogs from thirteen to twenty-four teeth. The records— Louis Cottrell trio (I played clarinet as a child!) Stan Getz at Le Hot Club, and Django Reinhardt, as well as a smattering of big band and Dixieland—all discs, any “Jazzman” would approve of. At this point, the track bike was a natural progression in my racing. Because my parents had to keep our shop open on weekends, some customers on the shop team “The Golden Gate Wheelman” would take me with them to the races; the track bike allowed me to ride in events on the banks at Hellyer Park in San Jose. Fast forward thirty-five years or so . . . I am riding down Market street heading towards Fifth Street and 3 teens or maybe even preteens roll by, swaying at the bottom of each stroke to reach their pedals from their seats that are on their top tubes. As the light turns yellow the oldest one yells, “MASH IT!” — I realize they are all on fixes— and they sprint through the intersection leaving me at the crosswalk. Red light. I was remembering how back in 1985 the only fixed gear rider I met the whole year was a P.I. who had moved from New York. Then, Berlin 1993, and it’s the first Cycle Messenger Championships. There are 5 messengers who brought track bikes, the internet still did not have a web browser and maybe 50 out of 500 of those messengers knew what the internet was or even had an address there (clarify). And of course, before you could say “myspace”, all that had changed. Within a few years, the Messenger World Championships had put the fixed wheel under messengers from every city that partook; and that placed the “Fixie” in the eye of the youth in urban areas. It’s a short stretch from there to plot the number of members in the myspace fixed gear army group against the production numbers of bicycles with rear facing dropouts. What I am saying is that the fixed gear meme may be the first global youth trend to grow with the power of the internet. It gave the youth a look at the freedom and exhilaration of a vehicle anyone can understand… and they couldn’t resist. Ten years pass in no time at all, but, it’s amazing what can be accomplished in such a short amount of time. MASH the movie, led to a team, shop, and projects, but most importantly, a community is part of that whole mix. MASH is the old man with the pile of records and the strap of cogs. MASH is this book..and so many more stories yet to be written.
EZ

GIRO X MASH SYNTHE HELMET

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We just received a batch of Giro Synthe helmets with the 10 Year treatment. Matte/Gloss Black, with Silver, Charcoal, and Gold details. Available in Small, Medium, and Large.

MASH 2015 VIDEO RENTAL AVAILABLE NOW

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For 2016, we wanted to offer a streaming service for the full length video. If you purchase the book/video, you own the movie. Shipping the book around the world can be costly. Now you can rent the movie for $5.00 on Vimeo. It is an HD file, with a 24 hour rental period. Enjoy!

RENT MASH SF 2015 NOW!