"Hi Erin,
As per our conversation on the phone last week I'd appreciate if you could give the "Hardcourt Bicycle Polo Federation" a plug on the Swobo blog. A number of us will be publicizing the sport at Interbike this week and playing exhibition matches every night after the convention.
thanks,
-Peter Dalkner"

I saw a couple of those cats lingering around the expo hall, but was unfortunately in the dark as to what hijix they were up to. Damn the luck...

Nay.. damn my luck.

Hey, you know what Friday is? Its International Bicycle Messenger Appreciation Day..

I will now quote my text from this time last year;

"From Oct. 9th 4:00 pm to Oct 10th 11:59 pm, bicycle messengers will get 20% off any and all Swobo clothing. (No discount on the bikes, just the threads.)

In step 2 of 2 in the check out process, youll need to enter coupon code 10099.

Now for the fine print; but read it carefully-

*We do not refund money on orders that people don't properly enter.
*You can look for the adjusted pricing after you hit the button next to the Coupon Code box.

Now how are we going to ensure that just bike messengers are partaking in this deal, you ask? Well, partly, if you place an order, send your full name and a photo of you working to stevil@swobo.com.
The other part is top secret and if we find youre exploiting this offer, the lights on our relationship will be snuffed indefinitely.

To clarify- one of these people qualifies, and one of these people does not;"

A few weeks ago I threw myself on the mercy of Mickey from Spooky Bikes to get my hands on one of their super badass new jerseys, and wouldnt you know that my pleas went unheard. (Actually, Mickey said hes holding one in a Tupperware for me.) However ace photog Peter somehow played his cards right, and scored one for himself.
And really, after receiving the following email from him, I realize he deserves one more than just about anybody;

"Hey mickey and Stevil-

I finally got to download and resize my photos from the annual post 30 in 30 folsom stage race world championships. It was good stuff.

All the basics, a 1+ minute time trial post shotgun, typically against the crissy field baby transport traffic.

then on to the folsom skid competition. Fun was had and buzzes were caught. and master D. Griffs took home the bacon so to speak. Anyway, here are some photos for whatever use you deem worthy or not.

By the way, who knew that bud light would make the skin stickier than tecate, foster, the beast, or full brewed budwieser? Just something to think about the next time you attend a cross race."

What was I doing when this took place?
Probably sitting on my hands..

Next time Im going to do what I can do to be present..
Its only right.

I got a heart breaking email from an old friend of mine who used to race for the Retro-Tec team back when nutjob Bob Seals ran the show;

"Stevil,
So sad to say Rob Sears (Cool Tool / Retrotec / Azonic / RazorRock) passed on Sunday, October 5, 2008. He now has a facebook memorial site "Rob Sears Lives On" Please post and pass this along to his friends.

Peace,
Monique"

I remember seeing Rob around the scene for years, and that Retrotec he rode.. It was set up with a Ventana rear end and was just about the coolest bike Id ever seen.
Im a day late and a dollar short on offering up the Friday Hero title to Rob, as it was due to him a long time ago. Rob, you were one of a kind and will be sincerely missed by those whose lives you touched, and as proven by the memorial clip thats been made, you were radder than just about any of us.

The following photo was shot by an individual who will remain unnamed at this past bicycle trade show;

He truly is the most popular boy in cell block C.

You know theres so much good stuff happening in Oregon. Hell, my parents live there, and thats worth something..

Anyway, last years Handmade show blew minds and opened doors and a fair selection of their ilk are going to be involved in the upcoming Oregon Manifest throw down. In fact there is going to be a pretty wide selection of builders and manufacturers from all over the damn place, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood, why dont you lace up your skates and roll on over?

In regards to the question I asked you all the other day about “Transportation Fringe Benefit For Bicycle Commuters” that had been tacked onto the Wall Street bailout bill, the super brain that is Jim emailed me with an extraordinarily and well worded explanation. He didnt dumb it down too much, and I actually got the gist of what he was saying.
Then Loudass broke it down even further;

"The “Transportation Fringe Benefit For Bicycle Commuters” means that one's employer -if it chooses to participate in the program- can offer its employees up to $20 per month in a pre-tax benefit to offset the employee's bicycle commuting costs. It's the same thing that many Bay Area employers do now with respect to BART tickets or MUNI FastPasses. The employee would have the $20 put into a separate account each month, tax-free, and use the funds to maintain his "commuter bike" and buy Obama T-shirts. The tax savings would, at best, be about the cost of a soy latte at Ritual."

See, if Jim and Loudass ran the country, things would be entirely different.

One thing you can be sure of is that there would be a whole lot more high fives.

But probably not for this guy.

Wednesday night found a smattering of us falling into and out of one anothers lives. There were fast ass bike racers, there were bike builders, there were regular old bike hobos, and there were fast ass bike hobos, but something that made the scene that really made my head spin around itself was Denvers new Folsom;

Just when I thought I had enough bikes, I realize I gotta make room for one more.

El Corpo and I have gone back and fourth on the subject, but after all has been said and done, I guess hes right... theres no way Scandinavia could be the happiest place on earth.

Alright... That it. Im way outta here, and if I catch you in New York, then hot damn.
Im going to be working hard at Invisible NYC for the first part of next week in preparation for my newest show, and then Ill be drinking cocktails there on the night of reception which is Thursday the 16th.

Wont you please join me?

You cant miss me, as I will be the one surrounded by adoring fans.
No, really.. Ill be the one hiding in the corner, sweating my face off..
All of the information thats fit to print on this ho-down is right here.

And yeah.. My Christian name is Steve Smith.. But nobody calls me that but my mom.

Ill return from the big city with a renewed vigor and sense of self, and will be more than happy to spill the beans all over the place upon my return.

Until then, be good to yourselves, and well catch you on the flip side.