3/30/2015

2015 TSBC Cap Time

Hey Folks,
PREORDERS CLOSED! there will be some extra caps when the order comes in, email me to get on the waitlist.
Order Window Extended until Friday April 24!
I am going to do another round of TSBC caps. $34 each shipped in the CONUS with 2 TSBC pins , see below for ordering details

2015 TSBC cap orders window is open. See tariksaleh.com/tsbc or link in profile.  #tsbc #tariksalehbikeclub #capsnothats New TSBC cap order is open! See tariksaleh.com/tsbc or the link in the profile. #tariksalehbikeclub #tsbc #capsnothats
Hey! Tarik Saleh Bike Club Cap orders are open! Two wool styles, made by @randijofab with embroidered logo. See tariksaleh.com/tsbc for details. Link in profile. #tsbc #tariksalehbikeclub #capsnothats thanks @aemoffett for the pic. Tarik Saleh Bike Club caps ordering open till 4/20. Check it at tariksaleh.com/tsbc. @fancy_fred approved! Photo: @andrew_squirrel #tariksalehbikeclub #TSBC #capsnothats

Learn more about the Tarik Saleh Bike Club.
This time there will be two styles:

Hot off the sewing machinery, Tarik Saleh Bike Club cap Samples, TSBC logo to be added. Propellerless brimmed beanie style on clear head, and classy goblin on blue head.  Order window closes tomorrow, Friday 4/24, Tariksaleh.com/TSBC for details. #tariksa Top down! Hot off the sewing machinery from randi jo, Tarik Saleh Bike Club cap Samples, TSBC logo to be added. Propellerless brimmed beanie style on left, and classy goblin on the right. Order window closes tomorrow, Friday 4/24, Tariksaleh.com/TSBC for

1. Regular weight wool Navy and Red alternating panels, blue brim, TSBC logo on the red. This is the sort of propeller beanie color scheme. So these are the "propeller beanie caps" no propeller included.

2. Light weight wool, navy and light blue/green (the fabric's name is "goblin"). Alternating panels with Goblin Brim, logo on the goblin. Lets call this the "classy Goblin"

These will be made again by Randi Jo Fabrications, sizes available are as follows:

Large: 24"+
M/L: 23"-24"
M: 22-23"
S: 21-22"

I am between a 7 3/8 and 7 1/2 fitted cap and I find myself in a M with shorter hair maybe tending toward a M/L in full winter glory sasquatch hair. But measure your head. This is your chance to get a nice TSBC cap in your size. I will order a few more beyond preorders, but the price will go up a few bucks. Each cap will come with 2 glow in the dark TSBC pins.

HOW TO ORDER. This is important. All pre-orders will be paid in advance. You must email me with WHICH cap you want and WHICH size you want to hats "at" tariksaleh.com. Use the same address for paypal payment and questions. Caps are $34 each. All prices include shipping to the Continental US. Please email me if you want a cap and live outside the US (Europe is likely going to be an extra $10-15 bucks for shipping, the shipping has become brutal overseas, sorry). Comments in the blog or a facebook page or whatnot WILL NOT result in an order. You must email hats "at" tariksaleh.com and pay me before the order window closes 11:59pm April 20th April 24.

Delivery will be in mid to late May, I will update those who have ordered as things progress..

glow in the dark pins, look white during the day, glow pretty good for a while at night, 2 with each order
Did I mention that glow in the dark pins are disturbingly good? Get em at tariksaleh.com/tsbc orders shipped out weeklyish, or something. #tariksalehbikeclub #tsbc #pins #flair #ridebikes #trynottobeanass

2/22/2015

Bad riding, good riding

Saturday I took an nice rare February clearish dryish trail ride. Our winter has not been fierce enough for full on fat bike conditions, but the mess of snow-ice-mud-standing water has made it not ready for the unfat. But yesterday it was overcast, fifty and blowing juniper pollen everywhere, but the trails were kind of clear and sort of dry. I finally had some time between a pile of proposals to go for a real ride. I grabbed a fast twentyniner and off I went. I felt pretty good, flipped up some trails and down some others. Got greedy and hit a nice longer descent that ended up being a bit too muddy and icy to continue. I turned around and set to a brisk out of the saddle climb, enjoying the feeling of a responsive bike under me and leaning into the climb a bit.

Next thing you know I caught a pedal on a trail side rock and went over the bars. On the way over I slammed my knee so hard on the stem that I thought I might vomit. I made the sort of heroic gurgling sound that ballads were once writ, and then walked it off for a minute and got back on the bike and kept riding, determined to keep the good sensations flowing despite the rapidly swelling knee.

I had a plan for the ride, I was a bit peaked and sore, but I decided to keep on with it and hit the technical bits that lead to home. I felt OK for a bit, cleaning a few difficult sections, blowing more than a few, but rolling on just the same. Until one little rock step up, where the front wheel got up there, but I did not quite get the english to get the rear wheel up, so I slid off the saddle crushing the back of the stem into my pelvis. Missing the good bits, but still knocking the wind out of me and eliciting more gurgling the ancients wrote tunes about. I rolled off the bike leaving it in the middle of the trail and sat on the side of the trail for something like 10 minutes, watching ravens fly by and clouds blow over town toward the Sangres while I considered my lot. It was not a great day for sitting aside the trail, but I have had worse and sat until I felt more of a need to be home than to continue with the sitting.

I got on the bike after a bit and rolled on the quick way home, bowing out of pretty much every tiny technical bit there was just to be sure there were no more grievous bruising and impacts. Got home, tossed the bike in the bike hole and took a shower and watched my knee swell up for the rest of the afternoon. Later that night, inadvertent bending and flexing jolted me out of sleep, as did sleeping on the deep bruise on my pelvis.

Sunday dawned cold and snowy and blowing, never quite getting above 25F. Desperate to get out of the house, I went for a quick burrito coffee mailbox run on the big dummy, but was underdressed and my knee was not quite feeling it. Did some chores and such and finally decided, right before dark, to see about finishing the ride I started yesterday. I bundled up, grabbed some lights, hopped on the nimble bike and headed out into an increasingly strong blowing snowstorm. I meant to do a quick 3 mile loop from the house, just to get the knee moving, but despite the cold and the snow covered rocks and the inability to see any of the ice in the shadows due to the fresh coverage, I had a great ride. Cleaning some stuff I rarely clean, completely failing on others. Coming off the bike sideways and watching it skitter on ice down to the bottom of a wash a few times, but no stem induced carnage.

I felt good enough to keep going and dropped down into the canyons on fresh snow over old crusty ice and snow as the light left the sky. My way shown by a couple of inadequate LED's and sense of smell. I cleaned the whole damn canyon loop, well, maybe a dab here or there, but no carnage, no bruising, no gurgling. I felt good. I had not eaten enough to go too much further, my water bottle was completely frozen, temp was dropping and it was getting hard to see due to blowing snow. I climbed hard out of the canyon and sprinted up the road to home. Tossed the bike into the bike hole and ate the heck out of some dinner.

I will sleep well tonight. There was a good ride, there was a bad ride. My knee still hurts, but it will hurt less tomorrow. Onward we roll.

1/24/2015

Couple of things Saturday, Bike wheels and Cyclocross...

Hey loyal reader, check it out! A couple things Saturday!

Look at this awesome OK Go video:

Inside Brilliant: The Wheel Factory from Brilliant Bicycle Co. on Vimeo.

Or maybe it is just an awesome bike wheel building factory in Taiwan. Found via Spencer Wright who is an interesting dude with a really strong bike background and the co creator of the Public Radio and creator of the prepared newsletter, where I found the link to the above, and which you should subscribe to. Really.

Also,

I should have given him his own blog post, but CXHairs is just killing it with the cross videos this year, distilling world cup and other races down to 20 minutes of race coverage and analysis. Check out his coverage of the Womens world cup in Milton Keyes below, and three years worth of excellent coverage over on his website. I suggest binge watching them all with a side of whiskey and chocolate tonight, so you are ready for the world cup tomorrow and worlds next weekend. I met Bill last year at cross Vegas and he is a solid guy, he even took it well when I blurted out "I love your videos but man do I hate the music". Anyhow I still hate all the music as I am a twisted old man set in my ways (where is the Van Halen maaaannnnnnnn) but the videos and analysis more than make up for it, I love them. Videos are arranged sequentially on his Vimeo channel if you want to binge watch more efficiently, CX Hairs Vimeo