Saturday, February 28, 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Thursday, February 26, 2009

new spot

i've never made a sequence before!
and it shows. wiggly barricades as tripods ftl.



Fenway Snowlerblading


Clip A Day Number Thirty from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Tom Ferrante was walking by Fenway Park and found this snow bank that bikers had converted into a launch ramp. Tom, Ben Price, and I added a rail to make things more interesting.

For the first time ever I will be able to attend the Bittercold Showdown without school interfering since I graduated in May! Ben Price, Kevin Phan, Dylan Shippee, Timbo Kelly, Eric Woods, and I will hopefully be documenting the journey.


LMAO. Stolen from http://runandexplode.wordpress.com

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

with myself



yeah whatever
i needed some fruitboot
and wanted to solo-bscc
so i did
this edit, maybe you only want to watch it once
maybe you don't want to watch it at all
i mean, it only has two tricks in it! wtf!!!
yeah whatever
buddy.

More Snowlerblading


Clip A Day Number Twenty-nine from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

HEY. SHOIT. OUIPDPATE. CRAP.







I PUT IT TOGETHER. WITH THE SOUND OFF. DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHICH SONG THIS WAS. LYF = HECTIC. SORRYZ.

hooray for friday


Clip A Day Number Twenty-four from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Friday Night Blade Preamble

Weather: Looking rather chesty
___so...
Spot Location: Cambridge Garage Ledges
Time: 7:00PM

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Monday, February 16, 2009

Saturday, February 14, 2009

PMC


Clip A Day Number Eighteen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Pat the Rat: "I think BSCC is going to be one of the most off the wall unnatural things and exactly what Boston rollerblading needs."


I'm a giant

Friday, February 13, 2009

Tom "Lines for Days" Ferrante



Clip A Day Number Seventeen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Friday Night Skate Proceedings

Meeting Time: 6:00PM
Meeting Spot: S Ledge between Fenway Shaws and Landmark Center
Provisions: Wax & Rub Brick(s)
Mission: Initialize the transformation of a block of ledges between MIT and the Cambridgeside Galleria into Ledgetopia.
Goal: To Save Rollerblading

Mini-Report: Tom & Ben
we met up pretty late. and went to a "spot" where i wasn't sure whether there was anything to skate. i screwed my knee up a little and Tom got a clip:



then we went to the "spot" i'd been trying to get tom to skate with me a few nights ago. it's probably a CAD of the Future, so no clip, but here's a still:



also note the custom bike parking at the spot:



we finished off with re-waxing an old ledge. but i don't want to give away which one just yet. hush-hush, haha.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Specialized Allez carbon fiber Review

I want to start off by saying this review is one of many I plan on doing. I choose this bike because it's built for speed and it's super lightweight. I own an older Specialized Allez Epic carbon fiber 14spd, and I just want to mention you can lift this bike with a finger. This bike is designed for speed, small cogset in the rear for fast and smoother shifting. Seven gears in the rear, two up front and the top gear is overdrive, meaning you can cover serious ground very quickly.

My dad came home with this bike after buying it at a yard sale in New Hampshire. It was in mint condition and all it needed was some air in the tires. The previous owner got a newer bike and sold this one very cheap. I was never really into road biking that much. I just did some mountain biking here and there.

So my dad shows me the bike and says "it's your size, go for a ride with me and you can keep it." I started to laugh because I could have kept it anyways but I went for the ride. My first ride was a paved over rail road track from Nashua, NH to Pepperall, MA, about 26 miles round trip. I did the ride no problem granted I wasn't used to the skinny tires or the weight of the bike but I did fine. After that first ride I was into road biking as much as mountain biking. This bike pretty much started it all for me and is one of my favorites.



Carbon fiber specialized badge and the weave of the carbon fiber.

Custom powdercoated water bottle holder to match the lettering.

Panaracer lightweight sport tires

Another overall shot of the bike

Canadia


Clip A Day Number Sixteen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

bscc + ice edit, feb 7 - 8



weird warm winter weekend,
not entirely skateable,
but we tried.

i can't tell for sure, but i think that if you like this you're either retarded, stoned, brilliant, or have a crush on us.

Skating in Traffic


Clip A Day Number Fifteen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Update on my custom bicycle

Did a couple small things to the frame of the bike. I work for a company called Rim Pro that specializes in the repair of alloy wheels. I thought it would be a great idea to slap on a couple of decals to advertise my work since they allowed me to work on this bicycle and paint it. I also kept the original Phillips emblem and fitted it back onto the notches where it was removed. With a little work with a small hammer it looks great. I decided to do a flip flop hub on this bike and hopefully with the help of Chemlsford Bicycle store I can get this bike together soon.
Photobucket
Photobucket

Southie


Clip A Day Number Fourteen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Just noticed I was rocking these tires

I was doing a tune up on my Marin hardtail mountain bike and I noticed I was rocking these lightweight tires. Hutchinson makes all sorts of tires for any sort of bicycles. Hey Ian you want to be my tire sponsor for bicycling hahaha.

Photobucket

My Sunday in Boston

I went into Boston yesterday with doo rag Dave to meet up with Ian Hutcho, Matt Ragone Bones, Remo , Kev Phan and whoever else that was skating the city. My hopes were high on skating some great spots but even the good spots still had a lot of snow. Started off skating block ledges, rocking out some lines. Then we skated to Eggs but it was buried in snow and super wet.

Then the adventure started, we skated over the bridge towards the Cambridge Galleria to find some indoor ledge in a parking garage. We enter this parking garage and skated some amazing ledge which ended up being a great spot. From there we skated forever to Anna's over at M.I.T. While on the way to Anna's we sat down and checked out some new ledges and I noticed my frame was cracked on my right skate. I've been skating Ground Controls for about 4 years and never had a problem. Thankfully I have an extra pair kicking around that I can use.

Photobucket

Blue Rails


Clip A Day Number Thirteen from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Wordle: bikeskatechocolatecake.com

Sunday, February 8, 2009

one more photo

One of the photos I took yesterday.  The rest are for a secret project.

BSCC Report - Feb. 7

this is an adventure in photojournalism, maybe.
an adventure in bad photojournalism.

about everyone imaginable skated today
and i got excited & forgot to do much documentation for a while
but here's what i got.

first i met ian & rode to windy's to meet tom & chen.
and brent was randomly there on his runch rake!
group photo:


then it was time to ride to the bridge ledge spot & meet andy.
we'd laft at this guy through the window at windy's, and then we passed him.
he has a crazy snaggletooth and this is a still from video:


almost everyone in the world showed up under the bridge.
i swear to god i saw pope john paul, and he's dead, so that's nuts.
i waited until it was too dark to take photos of skating, but here're these.
jamie murrett and tom ferrante (who was 360ing into this (though i think this one's alley-oop):


mr. blueskates, chris piascik. short one "nano-nano":


from the bridge ledge everyone got confused about where to go next
some people left, some people probably just ended up at other spots by accident
we ended up at bu ledges, which were soaked. chen skated a tall sharp 4-stair indoor handrail with a dick. i took no photos. as soon as everyone got to the benches we left for this place.
chen goes "if i don't get this this try [his 3rd try] i'm never skating these skates again."
alley-oop topporn:


the conclusion on these skates is that they're way too rigid & hurt your feet when you land. they made it into a garbage bin at some point, but like all good industrial waste, they made their way back out.
chen & solos:


julio crushed groove on this thing too, until security came out and told us we had to stop partying.
alley-oop fish:


then we headed for the iced-over green rail, but tom & i saw a stack of plywood & crates in a parking garage on the way there. we lost a few more people by stopping here but it was worth it. we built a little ramp to this flat drop rail, which wiggles a little at the beginning.
chen makio, chillin & dillin on snaps:


dylan did a good thing on a really makeshift pile of plywood & tom got a snap:


this guy's responsible for the blown-out-ness of dylan's foto. what a dick:


last trick there. tom & i built a little bank to gap.
mute 180:


and me, straight air first over dylan, then over chen:


that was that for skating. i like this picture too. chen looking a little irish:


chen was wheelying:



then tom found some crazy ice:


which ian abominable-snowman-kicked out of existence:


and then everyone threw ice around for about half an hour:


and then went to u-burger. i brought "chocolate cake" from 7-eleven across the street.
day complete:


after this we had a sort of board meeting for the BSCC competition. we've got spots figured out & probably tweaked the structure a little. we should have some really good prizes, too. more soon.

the end! (hopefully an edit soon.)

Matt DAC Fly


Clip A Day Number Twelve from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Burrito for his hot dog


Clip A Day Number Eleven from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

I received my copy of Too Faded today and I was suprised to also find a free copy of 2 Feet and a pack of Yo MTV Raps cards. Thanks Lonnie and Brandon! I already own 2 Feet but I appreciate the gesture and will give it to someone deserving. Review likely in the future. http://blackfabric.bigcartel.com

Friday, February 6, 2009

Rail 2 Rail 2 Rail


Clip A Day Number Ten from Bike Skate Chocolate Cake on Vimeo.

Swobo Sanchez Review

bought it from cambridge bicycle
most work done at boston bicycle
cost $600
general impression: good enough



i don't really know too much about bikes but i'll try to review this thing. i don't think reviews make too much sense until you've thrashed whatever you're reviewing; i've replaced most of this bike's parts by now, so i guess i can review it. this should be useful to people considering this bike or to people who are considering buying a complete/new fixed gear and don't have much experience with what to look out for.

i've liked this bike, it's held up pretty well. i ride it everywhere, all year round, generally with a large heavy backpack. two times when i've gone into bike shops the mechanics have told me i've ridden it pretty hard for only having had it X amount of time, when i've actually only had it (2/3)X amount of time. which generally makes me feel like a manimal.

the good things about this bike are that it's simple/reliable, is fixed gear ("exercise bike"), is lightweight, is just my size, and looks good. the bad things are that i didn't build it myself, that some parts broke pretty fast, and . . . that's about it.



i'll describe what i've had to do to the bike, in chronological order.

1. ripped shopping cart swobo logos off various parts of the bike. but a few are riveted or sewn in, so they've stayed.


2. bought toe cages. i have no idea why the bike doesn't come with them, but they are as essential as inner tubes. i got plastic ones first, with nylon/fabric straps, and those lasted a pretty long time - until one of the plastic pieces broke from lots of smashing it into the ground in cold temperatures while riding in skates. those cost $20 at REI, i think; i replaced them with $15 metal/leather cages from Boston Bicycle. the leather looks like it's starting to wear out, but the metal cages are way roomier for shoes. seems like nylon/fabric straps in metal cages would be ideal.


2a. got appropriate shoes. you can't stick fat shoes into the toe cages, and you want a shoe that will have enough durability in the toes to deal with constantly being used for grip to stop & accelerate. you also want shoes that are exactly your size, so your toe will be all the way down in the toe cage. xsjado footwraps are particularly good, since they have rubberized toes, a little cushioning, and you generally buy them exactly the size of your foot. or if you're nice, macbeth's wallister shoes are vegan & good for bikes.


3. lots of inner tubes. i probably would have needed more, but i put those Mr. Tuffy things in my tires and they help some. i think some tubes are better than others, but i forget which ones. i probably ought to buy them online, but i just use whichever bike shop is closest/openest at the moment.


4. a few tires. i don't know why the stock tires aren't built for much skidding, but i wore through my first tire as soon as i learned to skid. which is overrated - you stop a little better when you counter pedal, in my opinion. skidding is like cess sliding, it's more for fun than for effectively slowing down. the best two tires i've had were the $35 kevlar hard cases from international bike and the $45 red walled armadillos i got someplace in Andover. the guy there is pretty cool - he was telling me about his days of riding fixed gears at full speed down huntington ave in the middle of the night in the 70s. the armadillo has lasted really long, i'm still on it.


5. chopped the handlebars. the handlebars that came on the bike were pretty wide, almost cruiser-wide. a $4 hacksaw from home depot fixed that - they're now a little less than the width of my shoulders, which seems like a pretty good middle ground between maneuverability in traffic and comfort when alone. one cool thing about the swobo is that it uses some little end caps that screw off, so you can unscrew them, chop the bars, then put them back on & have everything still look normal.



6. bottom bracket & crank axle. these also really blew on the stock version of the bike. they broke after about a month, which was still well under warranty. maybe i just got a bad apple. i couldn't figure out one night why everything felt so loose in the pedals, then all of a sudden one of the crank arms fell off. i carefully avoided dying, then one-foot-pumped it home. cambridge bicycle was really good about fixing it fast, and they seem to have put a good axle in - i've had no problems since.


7. front axle. i broke it somehow after about a year and a half. i took a couple of really long rides, and hadn't had any of the recommended free tune-ups cambridge includes with the sale of a new bike, and i guess the axle wasn't seated right anymore. so it broke, but i didn't realize it until a tube popped and i couldn't get the wheel off. it took a while to get the right replacement axle in stock, but axles aren't too expensive, and i haven't had trouble since then.


8. bottom bracket. like i said, i ride pretty hard, and this thing broke again. they said there was a really quality kind i could replace it with, then somebody else said i was best off sticking with the original kind; i dunno what happened. i bet it'll break again. but they don't cost much.


9. the chain tensioner. the bike comes with little screws that help push the rear axle back. they work pretty well, i guess - i've never tried any other kind, but a tire re-adjustment seems to last longer than it would without them. but the screws are skinny & long, susceptible to being bent (which happened to one of mine), and have a really small, stripping-susceptible head (which has almost happened to the other). i guess i can probably find a replacement at any hardware store, if i get around to it.


10. entire drive train. i couldn't figure out why it felt like there was a whump in my rear wheel - every time i'd get going fast, it'd feel like the wheel wasn't round. so i figured it needed truing & went in for that. they pointed out that i'd broken a tooth in the rear sprocket and had worn out the teeth on both front & rear sprockets, and, mainly as a result, that the chain was nearly dead too. it cost about a hundred bucks to get a really good rear sprocket (a $35 shimano one), a new chain ring (lots of metal, looks crazy) and a beefier chain. the thing rides fast again. it's set at 48/16, and i like it that way.



11. wheel true (adjusting the spokes so the wheel's round & taut). it needed it a little after about two years. i think that's good in a city with this many potholes.


12. fender. i just recently got it, and carrying a laptop & electronics around all the time, i wish i'd had it earlier. i still get my feet & pants soaked, but hey. i wish they weren't so expensive though, and you should be careful not to kick them while getting on your bike - i kicked my flamingo fender & it split a little. remedy: packing tape.


13. seat. its shape is good, but i don't like the way it angles - if i put it high & normal, it'll ride up hard into my nuts. so i have it set as far forward as it'll go, so it'll be closer to flat. but this creates a little wiggle in the seat, which is annoying. if i really cared i guess i'd replace it. but this seat doesn't absorb rainwater & is generally the right size; i'll probably stick with it until it's unusable.


14. frame flecks. the frame is supposedly galvanized steel, bulletproof. (it's still really light - i carry it to the third story at least once a day.) however, lately parts of what seems to be paint have started flecking off, and i expect that's not good. i haven't paid it much attention though.


um, that's it. i like my swobo, i've had to replace a lot of things but probably far fewer than i would've had to if i'd made my own bike. still, i wish i'd made my own, both so it'd have more character and so i could've learned more about how bikes work. anyway, the swobo is simple, pretty, reliable, and geared to go really fast.