serious delirium

This is important to very, very few people

New Era Cap has redesigned the on-field official baseball cap for the first time in forever (basically)and it is not wool! It is high-tech wicking fabric, 100% cotton and even made in the US! That I have any knowledge of sports is usually a surprise to people who know me and those who know baseball are ever more surprised that I am Yankee fan. I was born into an Italian family from Brooklyn, there really is no choice in the matter. Giving up Catholicism was less of a big deal than switching baseball teams would be.
And having some knowledge of sports helps in those social situations where no one cares to hear about bikes, veganism or my feelings on hierarchy/privilege/race/etc.

RAAM's 1000-mile race

Race Across America is introducing a 1000-mile race in 2008. Basically it is the first 1000 miles of the RAAM course, ending in Taos, NM. According to their press release, 'The 1000-mile event fills the void between the traditional 500 mile races and the full challenge of RAAM.' I can sleep better knowing that void is finally filled.
Looking for motivation to race a 1000 miles? Check out Danny Chew's website. According to Steevo, who does PR work for Danny on the side, he rode his 1,000,000 kilometer this week.

2007 Furnace Creek update

Jack DNF'd on Townes Pass, about 200 miles into the race. Brian finished in 36 hours and was elated just to have finished! This is a photo with Jack holding a secret message for the Swarm! racers from Morgan. He just finished hiking the Pacific Crest Trail last week(!!), but when it crossed the 508 course back in July he had left a message under a rock in a strategic location. Amazing!

Furnace Creek 508

Look to the left to see Brian and Jack (wearing Swarm! vests)

The Furnace Creek 508 started this morning at 7am! After PBP I realized I was not going to be ready for this race. From PBP till 508 I only had one free weekend; not enough time to train properly to finish this 'comfortably' (I put that in quotes cause I probably could of finished, just not well or in relative comfort). And I am still homeless and training with no where to live is harder than it sounds. See this post for some more thoughts on that. Luckily even with me wussing out Swarm! still has two team riders out there, both entered as solo: Jack Jaxartosaurus and Brian Emperor Moth. They are strong riders and we hope to see sub-34 hour performances by both. Jack is eating a vegan diet and Brian is eating strictly raw, as he has been for 4 months.
I stole all of these photos from the AdventureCORPS webcast which is updated throughout the race with pictures and reports. You can go straight to the time station and result times here.

Time's Up!

I was in New York City last weekend and went to the Time's Up! 20-year anniversary party. I've always loved this group and am envious because we do not have a similar organization here in Los Angeles. In NYC there is such a huge overlap of environmental organizations, bike advocates/riders/etc, punks, and activists that organizations like this spring up (and exist for two decades!). Is it me, or here in LA are those all distinct, separate categories? Is the geographical layout of the cities that literally causes the overlap? I am constantly trying to sort out how and why I love NYC and LA equally. After riding around Manhattan and Brooklyn for two days in beautiful weather I sure do miss being out there. Is it possible to take the good from NYC and apply it to LA? Surely I am not the only one thinking about this.

There are some things you do not see every day and I am thankful when I have my camera with me. In these shots I was able to get two obscure sitings simultaneously: an Earth Crisis t-shirt and a guy with a cat on his head.