Coffee and bicycles...

So been super bad on the blogging front over the past few months - I have genuinely been so busy I've felt like I might explode - 24 obtainable hours in every day don't you know!

But yep - not complaining.. too busy to blog isn't the worst thing in the world...

anway - I had a right shitter of a day yesterday - got snowed on, lost a glove, got shouted at by a taxi and then got my THIRD flat of the week on my way into town - and had no tools on me, running late, serious bad move vibes central.  so in a strop I headed down to Leather Lane in Farringdon where this incredible oasis of bikes and coffee has been set up - going by the name of FULLCITY

I can't find a website for it - but it's basically London's low key answer to the Kierin cafe in berlin - and an awesome friendly dude there lent me his tools, sold me a cheap tube and made me a delicious coffee for a pound. 

so if you're in the Farringdon area and need a bike shop or coffee fix get yourself down there now - my new favourite discovery in the city

Tokyo Flashback..

My photographer friend Dan Medhurst just happened to be in Tokyo when I was there so we met up for a beer and he took this rather atmospheric picture of me posing like a bit of an idiot on the colour co-ordinated baby blue and white Grinder.  We did spend about 2 hours skidding up and down that alley way in the rain with U.V. raver glow sticks weaved into my tyres trying to create light trails but it didn't really work out as planned.  Regardless we did have a whole lot of fun. 

Anyway, Dan's been half way around the world since and just got back to Blighty to get his shots developed and send me the image.. thanks Dan.  And thanks again to the incredible Love Bikes who hooked me up whilst I was over there...

day THREE...

Kind of loosing track time in San Fran already due to the fact that we've slept in a different house every night since we've been here... but if you want to check out day TWO .. and other San Fran blogs - have a look at Juliet's as we're doing alternate days here...

so .. day three, I think... and we are both HURTING from riding up and down hills after Cardiel the day before.  Woke up on a couch at our friend Josh's house getting humped by his cat... so got up pretty swiftly and hit the road... needed coffee.  Coffee here is good and plentiful.

shot back through San Fran down Haight street and had a browse through the epic Amoeba Records..  which is amazing, they seem to have every record in the world in stock and keep all their second hand and used records together so you can find everything you need.  I am totally taken.  Going back for record binge on my last day. 

On from there I rode all the way downtown again.. and back to Bayside where we're staying.  The whole of San Fran is only 7 miles square, so you can everywhere pretty fast as long as you avoid the hills. Hit the wrong wrote and you're up shit creek.  Sans gear.  After a quick wash and change I rode back out to the Mission to meet Juliet who was asleep face down in our new home from home Dolores Park - aka London Fields in San Fransisco.

We met some friends there and saw some pretty awesome dogs...

before heading to a 'free beer Thursday' party at the Mission skate shop, which is also home to Pushbikes.  Frieght Baggage were having a launch party there for their new line of hand made courier bags which are actually super nice... there were loads of bike kids, skate kids, free but WEAK  - American beers (I hate American beer) - we even managed to bump into some girls we'd met in New York - Gina from King Kog and a few others. The vibe was super nice and Freight raffled away a few bags and that... I think between us we bought about 30 raffles tickets but of course managed to loose.

Look how Mission Skate encourages the kids to get smart and get rad at the same time.  Good shit.

After lots of watery beer consumption we went for stupidly good vegan Japanese food around the corner, before heading to Pops bar for more beverages and pool.  I am proud to end this blog with the fact that I whipped Juliet's ass at pool TWICE.  We then slept on another random mattress with a collection of random household pets.  Ace is my favourite - very warm bed friend.

The people of San Fran are nothing but hospitable.. thank you all.

America... hell yeah!

Tuesday morning.  7am.  Dragging bike bag through stinky Whitechapel in the drizzling rain.
Tuesday afternoon. 4pm.  Driving through California in the blazing sunshine... wondering why the hell we live in London?

Yep, San Fran is beautiful, Chris Fonseca (who we'd never met in our lives but has offered us beds for the week - legend) came to pick us up at the airport and we headed back to his place at Bayview, stuck our bikes back together and went for a warm sunny evening explore.

(Juliet... characteristically ecstatic on the bike / sunshine / Cali combo)

People do a lot of putting their bikes on racks on the backs of their cars here - and then driving to a place - and then riding around - which is kinda weird to us London people - but hell when in Rome...

So after a little drive, we parked the car in the state police centre (Chris' dad is like king of all the cops in San Fran  cool eh?)  - we headed down some big road called Market - trying not to get killed.  Seeing we'd just stepped off a 10 hour flight and by this point had been awake for about 20 hours.. there was a lot to keep an eye on.  Buses, trams, tram LINES and multiple lanes of traffic.  All good though.. there's tonnes of people on bikes in the city and its a pretty friendly place to ride.

We stopped off at Box Dog Bikes to get some bits and bobs ... the guys in there had one of Juliet's Hell Yeah shirts already... small world.

We ended up at the Clock Tower  - a spot  where heaps of fixed riders, skaters and BMXers hang out... messed around.  Juliet made some GOOD progress on riding backwards (she'll totally be going everywhere backwards by the end of this trip) and we got hold of some cans of the mighty SPARKS.. which kept us all awake..

(Riding at the Clock Tower with the boys..)

I went for a little cruise around on my own to check out the seafront, saw the mighty Alkatraz AND went for a ride with these dudes for a while.. but you know.. they were a little slow..

Later that night we had a few more beers... watched some REALLY silly horror film (well I slept through most of it actually) and then passed out.  32 hour stint.  Not bad eh..

This morning we've actually had some sleep to off to explore the city properly... will post what happens tonight

tunnel jam

.... so this weekend the nike 6.0 tunnel jam BMX invitational that I've been working on forever finally happened..

it was a super secret invitational event - for 10 industry teams to come and ride the Nike 6.0 tunnel - a 80 meter long park we built in the middle of a disused rail tunnel in the middle of nowhere...

Garret reynolds, the Forte brothers and Dennis Enarson were riding.. along with 40 others... ceilings were hit and the whole tunnel was used like some crazy flowing wall ride heaven.

here's some shots here before all the professional ones drop in the BMX mags.. (that little smudge in the right hand corner is Garret I think... need to work on my shooting skills

ANYWAY

thanks to everyone that came  - it was rad... and nice to know that parks going to be hidden in a tunnel in the middle of nowhere for the rest of time

San Fran tuesday

new bike new bike new bike and holidays...

a good week this week.... got a box at work with a new bike in it!!! it's sick... a Plug like my old one (that some fat sod nicked) so been building it up over the past few days.. few tweaks still to go but its getting ridden today for the first time!

anyway. here it is. shit photo I know ... but in a hurry..

lovely.

mad busy working on this totally ridiculous BMX event this weekend - even got Juliet down for the ride.  it's a big secret right now so I can't say anything but I'll post photo's after the weekend...

teaser is here...

http://vimeo.com/6750663

and then we're off to San Fran on Tuesday..

some total dude we don't know from adam is picking us up from the airport and helping us out with a floor to crash on ... Chris Fonseca the man behind No Cassettes - thank you

we're just trying to think of some stupid tattoos to get this time.. perhaps the inside of my eyelid?
xx

Come party with me and juliet SATURDAY 26th Sept

We're holding a radical party for the Bike Film Festival

Saturday 26th Sept

8pm - Late

FREEEEEE beer (until it runs out)

Venue is at Cable Street Studios - called Jamboree - just a mile east of Aldgate East down toward Limehouse..

see ya there

map here

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cable+St,+London+E1,+UK&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.38984,69.082031&ie=UTF8&ll=51.513336,-0.055919&spn=0.012419,0.033731&z=15&iwloc=A

Tunnel Jam

I'm working on something stupidly exciting with Nike 6.0 at the moment...

It's called TUNNEL JAM

watch this space...

bicycle diaries...

David Byrne is one of my all time heroes.  just watch him  here, ever since I saw him dance with a lamp I've been taken entirely. 

He also happens to be entirely sold on the bicycle as the superior form of transport... and how now written 'Bicycle Diaries' - being a dude that spends his life on tour - he takes his bike everywhere he goes so he can enjoy a bicycle adventure in each town... we are kindred souls...

Someone lovely gave it to me last night and it's made me happy - check it out

 

And lastly get better Jules - seems she had a flight with something tougher then her yesterday and the tougher thing won

i want to ride my bicycle...

wow. a fun week.. still mourning my bike.. seems like everyone else on the streets of London has a new Charge this week apart from me...

well .. so far people have been super generous and I've already ridden three different bikes to work this week - including a stuck in 1st gear gold cruiser from the 1950's... fun.  also taken up cruising around on a skateboard like a washed up Bart Simpson which is fun.

Cool to see Charge bikes in PEN magazine - which is a Japanese style / gadget magazine, a journalist from the mag came down to Juliet and I's press day a few months ago and was very taken by both Nick, Charge bikes and the new Lazy Susan and Steamer

You can see the article here

my flatmate Tiger has actually just started a Japanese music blog  here http://www.newnipponhearts.blogspot.com/ with a load of cool stuff to stare at for both the English and Japanese... so check it out

In other exciting new Juliet and I are organising a party for the London Bike Film Festival on the night of Saturday 26th Sept...

we got some tasty free beer, an epic venue and good tunes so please come down and join us!

ok - more news on the re-creation of my bike as i work on it
in a bit
xp