HOME | VINTAGE | CUSTOM Sunday, Jul 27th, 2008 @ 01:41 PM i just got back from the week long standard dropping, bourban gulping, pedal-fest across the great state of iowa known to you and i as RAGBRAI. what a time. the transition back to reality is a steep one and i can't say i've quite made it yet. what a great time. to much to report here but i'll type (what's left of) my brain out for the next issue of Lincoln Ve-Low. i will say this, if you have never been to the above stated event, do what ever it takes to get there next year. sell the farm, give blood, whatever...just don't sell your bike - you'll need that. sooper props go out to one Ms. Emily Broderson who pedaled more then the rest carrying more on her bike then the rest. she wins!!! can't wait for next year. in the mean time....back to work. boooo..... thad top of page Sunday, Jun 29th, 2008 @ 11:47 PM lincoln ve-low number fifteen at the shop. dk wrote some stuff as did conrad and so did wills. i conducted an interview as well as write some other blah-blah. it's a doozy. don't get left out in the cold. get your copy today! buy it. read it. re-read it like your gonna be tested because you just might be. so with wilderness submerged, where have you all been riding? me? a little here, a little there. a lot of urban fixie riding has been doing the body good. made my first trek to seward for work commute last week and that was fun. big, fat 32's on my geared 'cross bike sure are comfy rollin' down highway 34. i saw a hipster fixie in the haymarket last week that had 20's on it. i bet they're fast. i bet they're not comfortable. speaking of rollin' down the 34 towards seward---in cvo's absence, will anyone be doing the above mentioned activity this july fourth? does anyone miss cvo? i do. he was the good natured jack of all trades adhesive that seemed to keep the scene together, alive and going with no other motivation to do so then just to do so. wadda guy. i wonder if mexico knows what it's got with him. well, i guess that's all i got. tues night ride? will you be there? will i? route? who knows--- maybe something other then the mopac to eagle?? be there and find out boy scout. thad top of page Monday, May 5th, 2008 @ 09:40 PM Ohhhhh boyyyyy....what to say? seems that the days get longer but the time seems less and less. So, so....so it goes. It's bad news the passing of Bryan Backhaus. I personally didn't know Bryan but he was one of us. passionate about the right things. i don't know that i have words that would do justice. lincoln has lost an individual that cared about the right things. RIP Bryan. it seems like sometimes everyone that is into bikes is on the same page and sometimes they are not. i suppose it's that way with anything. however, i assume with a fair amount of confidence that the majority of you reading this out there in the digital abyss are into bikes so i'll stick to that. i'm not gonna preach but i'll say this- bikes are bikes are bikes. we all have our preferences and that's fine. i know i have mine but in the end, despite all the different frame materials and intentions for said frames (road, mtn, track, whatev) all the different bicycles have more in common then not. i mean, in terms of devices intended to transport humans from point a to point b, you have to admit that a mountain bike and a track bike have more in common then a mountain bike and say.....oh, i don't know- a Cadi Escalade. speaking of gas guzzling cadillac escalades, and continuing with the theme of assumption, i bet more owners of escalades are at odds with each other then are hand-holding friends. like there isn't an unspoken bond between escalade drivers where they wave at each other when they pass each other burning 7 gallons of gas for ever three inches that they move. call me naive but that's my guess. however, my dear monkey wrench cycles blog reader, that bond does, or at least has existed among cyclists for years. sure, there has been the minor squables between "roadies" and "mountain bikers" but that (at least in my mind) seems like a thing of the past--- or it should be. all of it should be. for me, i personally don't really care if you are on a road bike, a mountain bike, a track bike or a big kids trike- ride on my brother or sister! i think minimizing and criticizing what our various preferred methods of pedal powered transport is is stupid and juvenile. whether your bike has gears or not or whether your bike can coast or not is really beside the point. whether you wear lycra or slim fit levi's is even more beside the point. ok, i take it back- i guess i am gonna preach. so get comfy my congregation. just kididng..... i'll stop. bikes are good- no matter what. how can you fault someone for riding a bicycle? it's great no matter what. so there you go. thad top of page Wednesday, Apr 9th, 2008 @ 05:13 PM please buy our new clothes. thanks nate top of page Saturday, Mar 29th, 2008 @ 12:22 PM dear thad, it's Trumble, and he did work for rick about 5 years ago in the shop. He is now the head mechanic at the bicycle trip in santa cruz and has been for about 5 years now. great guy, one of the originals around here, and one that tought me a lot about the early frame builders and there importance to the over all. nate top of page Wednesday, Mar 26th, 2008 @ 03:38 AM another tnmwr and we actually made it to the park though there were some pit stops. at the first bridge- two flats. it must have been new-29er-idis as both were on donk's and JT's new 9ers. made it about 500 yards and JT had not one but two more flats- one of which was caused by a thorn the size of a yardstick. i decided to split at that point- had to work and i figured once we started moving again- JT would get another flat. i think i was wrong as from what my good friend the internet has told me, the rest of the ride was a success. in other JT news- check his interview out in the new Lincoln Ve-Low which can be had down here at MWC. new bike for me. i'll be steamin' and rollin' on my new Steamroller. look out! set it up hip messenger style- narrow bar and all so i can zig and zag in and out of traffic so as to get those packages delivered fast! in a not-up-to-the-minute-messenger-hip fashion, i did put on the front brake. booooooo! i have knees and i think i want to keep it that way. thanks to N8 and Wills for getting it rollin.' here's a funny side note regarding the bike that probably no one will care about but me. years and years and years ago, for my 19th birthday, my then girl-y-friend and now wife bought me a Sakae "Powerbuldge" (save the jokes) Ti flat mtn bar. She bought it from Nate Trumble who I believe now works for Rick Hunter. Anyway, it was the first and few Ti pieces i've ever owned. And let me tell you, in 1994, i thought i was pretty hot shit having something....anything made out of titanium. with it being 1994, as you can imagine, the bar was chopped narrow, narrow, narrow. i had Control Tech bar ends on it- so with those in place and the grips and shifters, there was no room left for a light, or anything else for that matter. needless to say, the bar has sat, and sat, and sat some more in my garage for years. i more then once almost threw it in the garbage but always hesitated due to sentimental and nostalgic value. good thing i did because the thing works perfecto emulating hip urban culture that is me. a few weeks ago, donk bought a tube preamp from this guy who lives in Walden. i went out there with him to pick it up and we ended up staying at this guys house for a couple of hours listening to records and talking about high-end audio. the guy had a couple of his buddies there as well, all of which belong to a little club focused on tube audio gear. so we were there and made some mention of bicycles. one of the guys piped up and said "We used to be friends with a bike jock- and then he tattooed every inch of his body and moved to California. his name was Nate." to which i said "Nate Trumble?" and all three said "Yeah!" see how it all ties back together? thad PS- is it Trumble or Tremble? top of page Wednesday, Mar 12th, 2008 @ 04:35 AM been a while--- TNMWR 2008 numero uno (i think) is now part of history. thanks to perfect weather and day light savings time- numerous folks found their way down to the shop for the unusual 6:15 sharp departure that included an urban trip out of town. we rode past wilderness which was an odd feeling as that park is typically the destination. past we went into the country to what appeared to be the hour of power route but EP took us further west then north instead of south. back in on van dorn then through pioneers park which is where i said goodbye and headed home. a great first ride of the year which got me excited for what the upcomming spring/summer/fall has in store. mw, mg, hoss, kw, jp---- where were you? thad top of page Monday, Jan 7th, 2008 @ 03:11 AM so mother nature graced us with temps above freezing. they were above 7 degrees for that matter which would have been good enough for me- but in typical NE fashion the weather took a dramatic turn, and in this weekends case- for the better. so what did you do? i rode bikes. it was fun. the frigidly cold weather pretty much kept me off the bikes for a bit, and i think it was a blessing in disguise as it saved me from burnout. hope everyone had a good Christmas and happy new year. i got the shaft this year and had to work pretty much every holiday. on and on and so it goes. regardless- got to see the fam and do the whole nine yards so it was fine. the next installment of lincoln ve-low- which is lucky #13 should be down at the shop tuesday- so get after it. and get one of our new long sleevers while your at it. they'll keep you toasty warm. thad top of page Wednesday, Jan 2nd, 2008 @ 01:17 PM happy 2008, you know what's weird about the 08'? it feels just like the 1994. not much has changed in the world. still not flying around like the Jetson's. another bush is in charge they are at war. sweet. you know who rules? zach and holly blume rule, that's who. now you all know. nate top of page Wednesday, Dec 12th, 2007 @ 03:30 PM VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! VAMPIRE WEEKEND! -thad top of page Wednesday, Nov 28th, 2007 @ 04:55 PM my head is now dizzier and my chest hurts, the bank will be the death of me. i wonder what EP's doing now? top of page Wednesday, Nov 28th, 2007 @ 04:54 PM some things of interest at the MWC today. Today is eric's first day of vacation in 3 years. In case you can't tell, EP is one amazing friend and the best mechanic this town has seen in well, quite some time, and the shop will miss him. he is on a plane bound for thailand to visit our silent partner. He will be gone for about 2 plus weeks, so if you really like to deal with him and can't much stand the sight of me, he'll be back soon. I hope that he has a rad time over there, and that the silent partner shows him a good time, and that he doesn't forget my shrunken heads and elephant tusks i asked for. perfect timing if you ask me,for EP to leave cause the bank that shares the east wall with us just got new carpet, and the glue stinks like well, you know, and the stripper that took the glue off was worse. the front door has been open for 2 hours trying to rid the shop of the stink, plus it makes you dizzy and i might get sick. all for you people though, don't worry i'll be here tomorrow, stench or no stench. Gersib's aunt Kathy brought me my very own homemade pecan pie today, all for me, baked by her, she has always been one of my all time favorite customers, but now, probably the top of the list. She knows that i don't drink the alcoholic beverages any longer, so i get the baked goods, hence, i win. thank you aunt kathy. well, i have a headache now from the banks new carpet and glue, so i might leave for the evening, luckily i made it the whole day. i wonder what EP's doing right now? top of page Tuesday, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 04:57 PM ok, so a real blog, well, a bit of info perhaps. There is an abnormally large amount of Swobo gear in here, please come by to check it out, and after you've checked it out, proceed to the checkout. in other news you can use, MWC factory racer Jose' Petersen proved that you can race a hybrid bicycle in the Cat1/2/3 cross category and produce good results as he piloted his Salsa flatbar rig to a super impressive 2nd place finish behind shad smith.. The riverside Cx was phenomenal this past sunday and the Myself and the Jose' enjoyed it. It was a true mountainbike CX course and not a RoadieCX course, yeah for us. uh, well, that might be aboot it, as the canucks say. i gotta go ride my cx bike now as we still have a long cross season to go. ok, stop by and see the new shop hand turkey. nate top of page Tuesday, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 04:58 PM it is dark out. it's only 5:30. why. nate top of page Tuesday, Nov 6th, 2007 @ 04:58 PM tuesday night ride is over, i know this because today is wednesday. nate top of page Friday, Oct 26th, 2007 @ 08:31 AM we have returned from the 2007 version of the Homie Fall Fest in the wonderful city of MPLS MN. It was another HFF of epic proportions, and i'm convinced that no other group of rider/city is more welcoming than the friends there. I always come back trying to remember how i feel when i'm there in hopes of spreading the good vibe back here at home. Jesse the Body and myself on sunday raced in the Mill City CX race in powderhorn park. We lined up with 89 other B racers for what was my favorite cross race to date. The course was rediculously fun, long and had jumpable barriers(lefler are you reading this) that seemed like fun for all. Next to the jumpable barriers were mounds of dirt with would planks connecting them, north shore style, so if you didn't want to do the barriers you could get yer north shore cross on, but it was slower. The Body was sticking it to the other racers, hanging out in the number one position until his last lap when he took a beer hand up from number one super fan Zito, chugged it, and then promptly wrecked in an easy corner to get relegated to 3rd. I came in 16th overall and 3rd in the Singlespeed class. ok i guess. pictures can be viewed at skinnyski.com . Many thanks to Emily R. (not emily b, whom is hopefully recovering nicely from her own feat of strength, don't kid yourself that chic is tougher than you.) whom put up with the body and myself at her new place, top notch accomodations and only one block from the cross race, perfect for the neurotic racer in me. ' The Homie is necessary every year to reconnect with the kindred folk from across the land, you all know who you are. thank you. top of page Friday, Oct 19th, 2007 @ 09:39 AM so the shop will be closed on Saturday the 20th due to the poor showing of Husker football...Nah, i'm just kinding, we went cross racing and homey festing in MPLS MN. THe shop will be open like normal? on monday the 22. So, been thinking about something i heard today.A friend was in the shop this morning and asked if i was going to the cross races in Omaha this weekend, and i said no due to the Homey and Powderhorn CX race in MPLS that i'm attending. Then i got the response "so you're not supporting the local scene", this set me to thinking. Well, i guess if you mean i'm not doing the local races in favor of a conflicting schedule than nope, i'm not supporting that scene that day. But, i think the whole idea of supporting the scene is interesting. We here at the MWC support the scene locally on a daily basis monday through saturday, week in and week out.It's not just us, it's all the shops, all the riders and friends, and really we're the new shop on the block, the others have set in place a history that we just try to expand upon. We'll be a sponsor of the Lincoln Cross weekend next month, and we're always at the MTB races in the summer. There are about 20 of the local scene in the MPLS right now, bonding showing the locals there what the locals here are like. I guess what i'm trying to get at is that there are a myriad of ways to support the local scene. Ride a bike, have an event, go to a race, wherever that may be and show them how the 402 gets down. nate MWC out top of page Monday, Sep 10th, 2007 @ 10:12 AM head north young man! this years homey fall festival will be held in the lovely town of minneapolis on sat oct. 20. get there. details as they unravel- lots of bicycle riding was apparently accomplished this weekend and vast distances were covered. me, myself and crook bathed in dust as we rode through the park yesterday. it was fun. thad top of page Wednesday, Aug 29th, 2007 @ 11:47 PM Lincoln Ve-Low #11 @ the shop. Get it. thad top of page Tuesday, Aug 14th, 2007 @ 02:38 AM no tues night ride- at least not for me. as The Specials once sang, this town is to hot. nate and ep are having a tuesday night ride of their own- just in a different state. that said- no mechanic on site. so, don't show up at the shop w/ broken bicycles. this offer is valid throughout the week. thad top of page Tuesday, Jul 31st, 2007 @ 10:40 PM about a week ago, i got back from three and a half days of riding (among other things) across iowa on the annual ragbrai circus. i'm gonna have a full report int he next lincoln ve-low so stay tuned for that. however, the long and short of it is that ragbrai is an amazing, absurd amount of fun and whether or not bicycles are your cup of whatever, i think you would be hard pressed to not find some element of smile inducing behavior on the journey. i'm already really, really excited for next year. second- as much as i love music, i can tend to feel a bit jaded from time to time as far as all the sing-song, ho-hum goes. lately, i have found stuff that penetrates even my concrete exterior. what would the ruckus be? seems like a lot of attention has been given in print and otherwise to The National with their Boxer record. i ignored it for as long as i could- but what a great record. its really great, and when i say that, i think it would appeal to a wide range of ears. the white stripes and cold war kids are playing here in october. i have never really thought the white stripes were all the rage though their new record impressed me. however, cold war kids are the band i'm holding my breath for in terms of that show. the more i listen, the more i like. isn't this a bicycle blog? i missed out on the lincoln-eagle-lincoln tues nighter. donk and i headed out a bit later for a pedal around town. it was weird to hear one of my best friends talk about working late in order to get the stuff he needed to get done after all his co-workers had gone home so he wouldn't be bothered. the donk i knew five years ago is a different donk then he is today- and he's better for it. he's a good guy that all of us could learn a thing or two from. ok- heading back to the sweet spot for more National before my head hits the pillow- thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Monday, Jul 30th, 2007 @ 10:15 PM ...and speaking of rock stars- check out the new Dirt Rag to see a photo of rockandroller Dave Averill. thad top of page Monday, Jul 30th, 2007 @ 04:54 PM I think that i'd like to add at least one blog entry to this summer's lineup. The Shop has been super busy all summer long, and by far the most successfull to date. Thanks to all of you who make the time to stop in and get something worked on or maybe who have purchased bicycles. We appreciate the business and getting the opportunity to help you all out. What's been up? well, lessee. I personally (nate) have been going to a lot of really good rock shows as of late. The new venue owned by Saddle Creek has opened in Omaha called "Slowdown" and i'd have to say that it has quickly become one of my favorite places to see a good show. We saw Built To Spill there a couple of weeks ago, man, what a lot of Guitar trickery going on with those guys, much better live. Locally the old Chatterbox venue change owners and is now called "Box Awesome". The shop's favorite band and friends Ideal Cleaners played there on Saturday, nothing short of another amazing show by the trio. If you haven't seen the Cleaners play, and you like really good rock, then check them out. Other friends "Strawberry Burns" opened up the night and had a slew of new material and as always were just a good, not to mention nice friends. Lots to do in Nebraska, just go looking. Road bikes? yep, been riding those things quite a bit lately, especially on Sundays, our one day off. Having a lot of fun exploring around the area for the better part my Sunday afternoons, it's fun to go fast eh? welp, that's a bit of what's up around here. all for now nate top of page Thursday, Jul 12th, 2007 @ 03:24 AM what appears to be yet another cool, hip film about messengers and fixed gear bikes has been made. its called MASH. i wonder if hawkeye and clinger are in it. check out the site for lots of video goodies: http://www.mashsf.com/# thad top of page Wednesday, Jun 27th, 2007 @ 09:56 PM happy birthday Nate. happy birthday Joy (as in division) happy birthday Bonsall. thad top of page Monday, Jun 18th, 2007 @ 03:03 AM the new issue of Lincoln Ve-Low- which would be issue #10 is down @ the shop. bonsall writes on the transiowa, wills on the kanza and skip on the branched oak 12 hour. tt on bikes vs. cars and me on an anti-race rant and the tunes to listen to while doing so. $2. among other things, part of my father's day was spent pedaling through wilderness with my good friend craig. it was fun. the park offered the perfect element of shade to balance out the heat from the sun. rode out to the ep bridge then took the jamaica trail back. everything was fine and dandy until we got the genius notion to stop and eat ice cream. uhhh! by time i got home, i think said ice cream was beginning to curd up in my stomach. maybe it was the peanut butter in the ice cream that was the culprit. anyway- happy belated father's day to all those out there that qualify. hopefully your super sugar treat of choice caused you no pain as did mine. in other news- my wife amy and i just celebrated our ten year anniversary (is that how you spell it?). so sat night night we did a little celebratin.' we went out and had dinner at a good resturaunt then, well....we didn't know what we were gonna do. we just knew we weren't going home. having a dedicated baby sitter for our four children for the evening is a rarity so we were going to take advantage for sure. so we twiddled our thumbs and asked each other countless times, "what do you want to do?" we went and washed the car and filled it up with gas then did some more finger twiddeling and question asking. we eventually found ourselves over at ep's house immersed in a three person game of cribbage. the evening was topped off with coffees from the mill. what ragers we are! actually the whole night was really relaxing and i suppose the icing on the cake was cribbage game- that was fun in and of itself but both amy and i were a bit hesitant to play ep as he is a seasoned player. i guess we were a bit intimidated. the good news (for us anyway) is that ep came in last. i guess the anniversary gods were smiling on us. or was it the cribbage gods? anyway- tues night rides are in full effect. pedal, pedal, pedal.... thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Friday, May 25th, 2007 @ 07:58 AM well, if your a racer, then your stoked as there seems to be more races- then well, just about anything. this sat-sun is the annual 12 hour grule-fest @ branched oak for all you owls, bats and mountain lions. should be fun- but for crying out loud, behave! we mountain bikers have a clean cut nice guy/girl reputation to uphold. but-if pedaling with your eyes closed isn't your cup of whiskey, then head down to Duffy's sat night to see rockandrollstud john taylor and co. make your ears bleed. they will be playing w/ what-used-to-be lincolnites head of femur and some other band that is on tour with them. it will be my first visit to duffy's since they installed an elevator. wtf? maybe they'll be giving out free rides. lets see- what else? with gas prices being what they are, a fellow co-worker wants to get a bike. he lives in lincoln but we work in seward. last night i was trying to convince him to ride to work. that sell was hard enough. when he began complaing about poor shifting on bikes, i suggested a single speed- or better yet- a fixie. ha! he wasn't having one iota of the crap i was dishing. not that that was the first time i've tried to pontificate the merits, value, efficiency and pure simplistic pleasure of riding a fixed gear- but it once again reminded me of how hard a sell it is to someone who has never tried it. who cares? i would be stoked to see the guy on a bike- any bike really. but i bet he would be stoked even more on a fixie. i just bet.... but i don't gamble. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 @ 12:10 PM hey! listen up you folks. we've been around now for a whole 3 years, can you believe it? It sure flies by you know, time that is. We are truly thankful (as opposed to untruthfully thankful) to all our customers for the support and encouragement for the past three years, and hopefully many more to come. To celebrate this newly aquired 3 yearness, we are having the first ever SALE at MWC. For the entire month of May, all instock singlespeeds and fixed gears are on sale, basically anybike with no shifting mechanisms affixed to it. Stop in and see what's available. The new Swobo bikes should be here on friday, and no, since they are bran new to the shop, they aren't on sale, unless you bring us cookies for a week. ok, back to working on bikes. nate. i wanted to say this earlier but the blog mainframe was down, Happy birthday thad, you sure are looking good for a guy with 4 children. top of page Sunday, Apr 29th, 2007 @ 10:24 PM i'm 32! whoooptee-wooo-hoooo! to help me celebrate, why don't you swing on into the shop and get yourself a brand spankin' new copy of Lincoln Ve-Low. our gb and austin correspondent len conducted a kick-ass lengthy interview w/ mr. 29er wes williams that is in the new issue. also are toth's thoughts (say that fast 3 times) on his new two-wheeler. joel smith offers installment #2 of his re-launching the Tomac brand of bicycles right here in stinkin' lincoln. there is also music, macho and more. dig it! thad top of page Wednesday, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 09:50 AM Thad will be older than myself on friday. hah. top of page Wednesday, Apr 18th, 2007 @ 09:03 PM these are crazy times we live in. this nonsense that happened at virginia tech is enough to make anyone cringe- as did i. its crazy, crazy, crazy- my heart, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. on a lighter note that hits closer to home but is still crazy is seeing our good buddy nate on a pink, 14 lb road bike? huh? whowouldathought? not me! but, tonight as i was riding over to donk's, i saw a lone nate woodman ahead of me riding said bike. watch out wed night riders- your gonna be eating a sworn mtn bikers dust. just you wait.... once we stopped and i had a chance to notice the odds and ends, i went to lift it up and nate stopped me because it had a pump, two full water bottles and mtn bike pedals on it. ha! as if it mattered. i still lifted it off the ground feeling little to no resistance. bikes like that see me comming and if i look like i'm gonna try and ride it, they just lay down and die. other then that- spring has sprung, the park is good and the shop is busy. get out and enjoy--- thad top of page Wednesday, Apr 11th, 2007 @ 09:43 PM Kurt Vonnegut- RIP. thad top of page Tuesday, Apr 10th, 2007 @ 09:19 AM in this past Sunday's Lincoln Journal Star was a story about Lincoln's own Tomac bikes. i think it was fairly well done and i even learned a thing or two. there was a big photo of our GB C. Dalton sprinkling his magic on a mean, green Tomac downhill machine. check it here: http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/04/07/news/business/doc4616b4646dbcf981174451.txt in other news- i think it's a big weekend for racing- though mother nature may very well put an end before it begins to all of that. good luck to all you raceras if she doesn't. other then that...it's my dad's birthday today. happy birthday dad! that's it. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Monday, Mar 19th, 2007 @ 03:39 AM on sunday- nate and i headed out on two wheels for a bit. checked out the park. probably needs a few more days of dryness- which i don't think we are gonna get. patience, patience. we hit the jamaica trail- into the wind all the way to the south end. it hurt. nate was running big gear fixie (42/17) 'cross bike while i was rollin, rollin, rollin' on ss (34/16) 29er w/ fat tires. the gear difference plus the tire difference plus our weight difference plus the wind plus my yapper flappin' in the wind a mile a minute made for some hard work for yours truly. was worth it though. rode all the way to the end and saw an area that had a bunch of snow. it wasn't shaded either. how do you have multiple, consecutive days that approach 80 degrees outside and still have snow lurking about? got me. so the above stated nasty wind was at our back as we returned to civilization- and it was worth it. saw a number of folks out enjoying the day on their bikes- most of which neither nate nor myself recognized. we saw some poor, lone schmuck on the highway headed towards beatrice. he was going nowhere, quick. we did see maria, and recognized her. stopped and chatted for a bit- which she made me laugh more then once. got home and ate some tortilla chips. it was fun. what did you do? thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Saturday, Mar 17th, 2007 @ 02:05 PM hey thad? where you at? i hope all of you are out on a ride, cause indoors just isn't as much fun, unless you're a video game playing Generation Y-er. happy st patrocks day everybody. now where's my green KoolAid? top of page Thursday, Mar 1st, 2007 @ 10:58 AM hey! so, winter marches on and for once we have real snow and weather. the snow has been fun, and a pain, but without the change would you really appreciate the ease of "regular" riding? I was thinking of this while this morning riding down the right lane of capital parkway, as they hadn't cleared the bike path yet. I don't think i've ever ridden down that street in the the street. kind of fun, and definetly faster than the 7 inches of wet mush on the bike path. I've been ridding the 29" Matt Chester Mutinyman Utility snow Fixie and have to say, it's fun. I ditched the fancy hippy bars and put some upside down Nitto Northroad bars with an upside down Deore right lever on the left, for a full mr. magoo setup. it's perfect and bothers Eric to no end, also perfect. have you all been riding? it's easier for me to get through the winter by embracing it and being happy for the change of scenery, with all the snow the normal ride to work becomes less mundane and more of an adventure. last years tallly for me driving to work in the year 2006 was 5 days total to Eric's ZIP. i was sick i say, then again so was he every once and a while didn't stop him. I was talking to a good friend this morning and she said "why did you ride? Why not just drive?" well, i guess i ride because i can. so can anybody as long as they want to. ride your bike, it's that simple. nate top of page Friday, Feb 9th, 2007 @ 10:07 AM Lincoln Ve-Low numero ocho down @ MWC for your reading plasure. biggest issue ever- and i mean ever. Smith on re-launching Tomac, an article on a weekend spent riding/drinking/freezing @ Land Between the Lakes park in KY, Toth on consumerism and an 11 page photo spread of the '06 cycling season, music, mayhem and more. its dope. get it while the gettins' good. thad top of page Wednesday, Feb 7th, 2007 @ 02:08 PM i was on your street. i was gonna go rob you blind until i got to the door and heard a ferocious beast on the other side ready to rip my limbs off, so i decided to pass. your lucky day nate. thad top of page Tuesday, Feb 6th, 2007 @ 03:15 PM thad, i agree, your mag is a complete waste of time. and, word on the street is that you went on a bike ride today, and actually went down my street. i will be checking my home for misplaced items. top of page Tuesday, Feb 6th, 2007 @ 11:38 AM i quit that stupid waste of time/waste of paper. no one cares about it- most of all me. just kidding its all in my head...and on my hard drive---and soon to be on paper. 24, 48, 71.5 hours???? we'll see. thad top of page Tuesday, Feb 6th, 2007 @ 10:58 AM it is cold out thad, now you must get over it. where's the new lincolnvelo? top of page Tuesday, Jan 30th, 2007 @ 03:50 AM its cold out. thad top of page Sunday, Jan 21st, 2007 @ 12:37 AM my riding habits have remained a tad bit stagnent. no good- but what's a guy to do? so our fearless leader cvo posted a thing on his very own blog stating that he would be heading out today (sat) around noon for a jaunt around our fair city's bicycle paths. i read said announcement and committed in my mind that i would be going- which i did. got to cvo's a little after noon and was told by his lovely wife that he had already left and to call him- which i did. he was @ the 'd' st hotel so i cruised on over and met up w/ him, dk, cornbread and jim and headed out. a few miles in- we met up w/ eb, mm and jt and rolled about some more. it was about at this time that i began yearning for coffee. crossed paths w/ some other cyclists and later saw millhouse who joined the ranks. got back around the 27th and highway 2 area and decided that my need for coffee had to be met- so decided to head on home- but not before seeing mw, mg and jb. for a cold day- there sure were a lot of folks out- especially at the same time. i guess it was the most pleasant day this week. it was good to get out. spent the eveing w/ donk, nate, jl, mr miles and cj watching loudQUIETloud which is a new film about the pixies. if you are a fan of the band- you need to see this film. its really good- and puts the band and their apparent conflicting personalities into perspective. we then watched pedal which is a documentary on NYC bike messengers. it was good- but not what i expected. both films, really, were a bit depressing- but educational at the same time. all in all- a really great day. rode my bike- spent time w/ my family and friends consuming some art. it was good. what did you do? thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Wednesday, Dec 27th, 2006 @ 11:12 PM so Christmas has come and gone. what a whirlwind. hope santa brought you what you wanted. its now time for me to kick my ass into gear and dust the cookie crumbs from my shirt. entirely to much holiday cheer for me. for about the past six or seven years- around early november, i tell myself that it is possible to go through the holidays and enjoy tasty food and drink w/o completely over doing it and every year for the past six or seven years, i fail miserably. i'm beginning to wonder why i set myself up for failure. so it goes. finally got out on a ride today. donk and me and my holiday gut set out through the park then gravel. it was good- surprisingly good considering how little i have been riding. hopefully i'll get the big wheels a-spinnin' more in the very near future. thad ps- and if i don't see you before- have a happy new year. top of page Wednesday, Dec 20th, 2006 @ 10:32 PM allright all you last minute holiday procrastinators. been riding bikes in the nice weather instead of gettin' your holiday shopping done? look no further my friends then MWC world hq for all your stocking stuffers and then some. who wouldn't be stoked to wake up Christmas morning and find some fine Swobo gear under the tree for them? and if your gonna wear Swobo stuff you gotta be riding a bike- and when your on that bike, your sure-as-you-know-what gonna get thirsty and are gonna need something to hold the h2o- so hows abouts a new fancy-pants mwc water bottle? hows abouts 20? we got 'em. then of course there are the new Lincoln Ve-Low t-shirts designed by yours truly and ho-ho Hoss. NE represent! so get on down to the shop and get the goods while the goods are worth gettin.' over and out. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Friday, Dec 1st, 2006 @ 04:47 AM went for a ride last night a lil' after 7. it was cold. fun- but cold. headed east to the homes lake dam. didn't check the direction of the slight breeze before leaving my house and didn't think much of it. i thought much of it on top of the dam. that 'slight' breeze is anything but when its freezing out. it was fun nonetheless. before heading home to get the freeze out of my skin, i swung by city spirits to pick up a bottle of crowney for my work Christmas party exchange gift. let the games begin. hey nate- is MWC gonna have a Christmas party? so i'm (w/ the assistant of a 3-digit initaled monikered mastermind) still ironing out the details for some mid winter two wheeled goodness capital city style. bring your legs, your lungs and what you have left of your liver. not sure where or when- yet. keep your ear to the ground. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Wednesday, Nov 22nd, 2006 @ 12:57 PM hey, happy day of eating food to you all. not much to say today, or rather, i've got plenty to say but no desire to type it, and really, why would you want to read what i have to write anyhow? that's just it, you wouldn't. but, i will leave you with this, a link to something that i agree with, from our friend Tim Parr at Swobo. Relax, enjoy tomorrow and friday, take advantage of the good weather, and by all means, don't spend it indoors our at some super overcrowded store just because they are having a sale. http://www.howtoavoidthebummerlife.com/weblog/ eat food and ride. nate top of page Friday, Nov 17th, 2006 @ 09:11 AM that was suppose to be my line. but really, swobo stuff everywhere, more to come. better hurry or Zach will have all of it by next month. nate top of page Thursday, Nov 16th, 2006 @ 04:48 AM SWOBO stuff everywhere. thad top of page Tuesday, Nov 7th, 2006 @ 10:35 AM issue #7 of lincoln ve-low down @ the shop. homey fall fest report, tt 'sker fan, beansprouts in amsterdam, music and more. oh yeah- sweet cover shot by mitch kline. $2 from your wallet to mine. OK? thad top of page Sunday, Nov 5th, 2006 @ 02:34 AM bikes bikes bikes bykes. i sure love bikes. look for some good bike action here in the next couple of months. really- i'm not foolin.' there are good things in the works. be in the know- now...just don't take any photos of you or anyone else for that matter knowin' anything. trying to take away blogging and all its goodness at this point is like prohibition was. what the hell am i talking about? leenkon vehloe will be out soon. 48 hours i hope. dope. thaduh top of page Friday, Nov 3rd, 2006 @ 01:49 PM uh, hello? ok, check, we're back to semi irregular unscheduled bloggings on this here r2 unit, and let me tell you not much important is going to be said thats for unsure. What is for totally sure, like, really, is that we will have a whole pile of new SWOBO duds for you hipsters to purchase on wednesday or so unso of next week. We have pretty much everything you see on the site becoming available, even the new waxed cotton jacket that cost's quite a bit, but you all are not fooling me, i've seen you all in your Patagonia gear, so i'm sure you can figure out a way to get this stuff, it's really nice. What else is up? well, lessee. the front door to the shop is open and it's November, so nice. Thad was in here this A.M. and said the next issue of his world renown zine LincolnVeLOw will be available next week, and no, there won't once again be my article, why? because i'm taking the half a year plan to completion, just ask thad. i should think that all of you will have the good sense to get out there and ride this weekend as it's suppose to be beautiful. remember, buy some SWOBO. MWC top of page Friday, Nov 3rd, 2006 @ 01:48 PM uh, hello? ok, check, we're back to semi irregular unscheduled bloggings on this here r2 unit, and let me tell you not much important is going to be said thats for unsure. What is for totally sure, like, really, is that we will have a whole pile of new SWOBO duds for you hipsters to purchase on wednesday or so unso of next week. We have pretty much everything you see on the site becoming available, even the new waxed cotton jacket that cost's quite a bit, but you all are not fooling me, i've seen you all in your Patagonia gear, so i'm sure you can figure out a way to get this stuff, it's really nice. What else is up? well, lessee. the front door to the shop is open and it's November, so nice. Thad was in here this A.M. and said the next issue of his world renown zine LincolnVeLOw will be available next week, and no, there won't once again be my article, why? because i'm taking the half a year plan to completion, just ask thad. i should think that all of you will have the good sense to get out there and ride this weekend as it's suppose to be beautiful. remember, buy some SWOBO. MWC top of page Monday, Oct 30th, 2006 @ 09:48 PM SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh top of page Friday, Nov 3rd, 2006 @ 10:02 PM Thus begins radio silence................. top of page Tuesday, Sep 26th, 2006 @ 08:50 AM we're out of here! Hoss, Eric and myself are about to get fired through the sky in a tube all the way to Lost Wages to body slam clarke dolton into the nevada dirt...i mean go to interbike. So, stop into the shop and hello to the replacement us's. Thad,Maria,The Cheet and others. Eric can't wait to get on the plane, he loves to fly... all for now nate top of page Monday, Sep 25th, 2006 @ 03:12 PM Hey. heres the lowdown for this week. Eric and I will be leaving for LostVagrants Tuesday at noon, to attend the International Bike show, and thanks to the kindness of friends, the MWC Global Headquarters will be open everyday. BUT: THERE WILL BE NO MAJOR MECHANICAL WORK BEING DONE UNTIL THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, NO EXCEPTIONS. Feel free to come in check things out, purchase something if you like, Thad, Maria, The Cheet, and maybe a guest mechanic or two will be here to help you. Please take it easy on these Folks as they are here to keep the doors open, but all tricky questions or work will commence the following monday. We are going to learn about new technology and products that we will then pass along to you, the customer, that' right, we do it all for you. thanks and have a good week. nate top of page Thursday, Sep 21st, 2006 @ 03:35 AM i got a new bike. pete got a new bike. you should get a new bike too. thad top of page Friday, Sep 8th, 2006 @ 07:00 PM new mwc t-shirts down @ the shop so get one. they rock harder than sabbath. thad top of page Friday, Sep 1st, 2006 @ 05:13 PM welp, happy friday, or if your eric and myself it's technically thursday. finished SweetSteve's new Moots 29"er and man, that YBB with the Bigwheels sure feels like a lot more than an inch and three eigths of travel, dang bike is really nice. SweetSteve was so stoked today after the initial ride last night that he couldn't talk earlier today, and that's the stuff that makes this job so enjoyable, good people stoked on bikes. we are honored to build these bikes for good people. Eric's custom Steve Potts 29"er with TypeII fork should be here by the end of next week and if not there will be no working with him, so if you come in next week do me a favor and not ask him where it's at, thanks. new MWC shirts should be here by the end of next week as well, all super cool and done by MWC head designer and super friend HOSS. get one soon cause i only ordered 50, hey we're a bike shop heading into winter. oh, we also built up really cool and affordable (for a custom frame) Rick Hunter fillet brazed 26" single speed with a Rock Shox Reba and white industry's rear hub and freewheel for $1650, which is actually a good deal, so if you really like 26" and SS's check it out, it's an 18" frame. SHOP IS CLOSED ON MONDAY, the goverment loves us and gave the working man a day off, cool. huh? for the record i just heard that showin has never seen the movie Red Dawn? what the heck was he doing as a kid watching Strawberry Shortcake cartoons? sorry showin. Homie Fall Fest in MPLS is october 21st, get there, and if you don't know what that is, go anyway and be stoked on good folks and bike riding. don't kid yourself that city rules and the people up there are the best. well, that's it. oh, and Lincoln Ve-Low issue five will be at the shop tomorrow. ride a bike, experience freedom like no other. nate link for the day: www.redbarnbicycles.com good buddies of ours doing it right in Montana. top of page Thursday, Aug 31st, 2006 @ 08:37 AM so, i have to get back to building SweetSteve's new Moots MootoX 29"er and all, but i had a thought regarding the first NU FOotball game of the season. So, UNL is a dry campus, but if you have enough dough to purchase a slab of concrete for tailgating on the campus, the cops will look the other way when it comes to the Beer drinking and boozing going on, right on their property which clearly states no boozing. Have more money and all of a sudden the rules are malable. interesting. back to building one of the raddest Ti 29" bikes to come out of the MWC World Headquarters. look for the shop to go Global in the upcoming months. back to the trenches and wrenches. nate Oh, lots of new Swobo goods in the shop for you hipsters to purchase, thanks for the support. top of page Friday, Aug 18th, 2006 @ 02:42 AM its 4:15am and i'm sitting @ work trying to type this blog. its tough though when you're interupted by hitting the ceiling every thirty seconds by house shaking thunder. boom. so it goes- and so we will not be going through the park anytime soon. time to hit the gravel or hit the pavement or hit the couch an cozy up w/ the new issue of dirt rag which seems to have a lot of NE stuff in it. there is a half page write up on the re-launch of tomac that is happening from here in stinkin' lincoln. and then a few pages later kent mcneill has a write-up on platte. crazy. I guess one and a half pages does not constitute "the nebraska issue" but its more then is usually in a mtb rag. isn't it? there is some mtb race this weekend- i think its the state championship- so good luck to all those racing. be careful and wear your helmet- unless your cvo- or showen- who will be standing on the side- yelling @ CVO- to wear his helmet. october 21, i'm told, is the date of this years homie fall fest up north in minneapolis. ever been? if not- your missing out. super fun bike rally event. a day filled w/ bikes, beer and debauchery. you should go. i hear downtown lincoln has some designated bike lanes now. thats a good thing in my book. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Wednesday, Aug 16th, 2006 @ 05:41 PM hey! sometimes you forget that the big guy has a lot of pull, so you have to resort to the original reasons for doing things, because of love and heart, just like in the 82 classic RAD, if you haven't seen it, the movie RAD, my GB jesse has a copy that he rents out for $5 a night so contact him and you'll be stoked. ride, desire, and Passion. ride for the Passion, bikes are freedom, and like GeneO! says, get some. all for now, Nate big guys 1, small guys 0. nate@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Wednesday, Aug 9th, 2006 @ 02:31 PM This is officially my blog again, and to those of you who think it's thad's, well, your just plain wrong. Eric and I have been super busy lately which is a wonderful thing as the other options don't look so good, like not being busy. Thanks to all the customers and friends who have come in for tunes or just to say hello. Lessee, what's been going on. well the other day eric and i cleaned for 4 hours to get this place in better shape, not to mention being able to see the floor in the bathroom was nice, organization helps the mind or something like that. Swobo will be making some cool new urban bikes, and Tim alerted me that we'd be in the loop on that, so stay tuned, but i guess it's going to be awhile. Sky yeager formally of Bianchi is now in charge of making Tim's dream of an urban bike come true, can't wait. another CD player has bit the dust here at the MWC world headquarters, i think in the past two years we've killed like 5 of those things, must be the super dust and dirt in the air or something. Eric's going crazy waiting for his new full custom Steve Potts Ti 29"er to get here, and as of today Steve said it should ship on this friday, if so next week will be exciting. We also had two customers place orders for steel Potts 29" frames and forks, very exciting. If you know me at all you'd know that it makes me very happy to see customers get turned onto Steve's work, he's an original for sure, and about the nicest person you could hope to meet in the bike industry. Welp, if you're like Eric and myself you can't wait for the cooler temps of the fall to hit, means good riding to be had. hope everyone is riding more than me and having a fun summer. all for now nate top of page Friday, Jul 28th, 2006 @ 08:54 AM maybe I spoke to early when I said “way to go floyd.” maybe not. i hope not. sometimes I think the general public is naïve in how we perceive our professional athletic heroes. don't get me wrong- I’m not accusing floyd- or anyone of anything. But when you think of baseball- think of how many of those guys have been busted. and if you apply the slightest bit of common sense- when you look @ how some of those guys seemed to bulk up overnights once they got into the major leagues- perhaps its not such a big surprise. again—not trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers- just merely suggesting that my position is that the problem is way more widespread and common then we are lead to believe. At the same time- i hope he didn’t do it. man- if I had won the tour- my testosterone levels would be through the roof as well- but then they usually are. just kidding…or am i? thad top of page Sunday, Jul 23rd, 2006 @ 06:16 PM way to go floyd! i'm sure others had this one predicted- but not me. man- now those your-oh-pee-uns are really gonna hate us. thad top of page Monday, Jul 17th, 2006 @ 03:42 PM congrats to mwc rider matt gersib on his gold medal win at the nebraska state games. i was made aware of said info on the ch. 10/11 news last night. weird. how you guys made it through the heat is beyond me. to hot- this town is to hot. i need a 29er. thad top of page Thursday, Jul 6th, 2006 @ 06:24 AM issue #5 of Lincoln Ve-Low is now available down @ le shop. Donk wrote something, Wills wrote something, Toth wrote something as did I. Also an interview w/ Jon Kendziera of Jonny Cycles. 2 bucks. getting up @ 3:30am to pedal out to seward turned out to be not so painful afterall and actually was a ton of fun. good idea cvo. had my first beer at about 4:30. purdy good. we were in seward by about 6:45am. by 9am it felt like it should have been 2 in the afternoon. was a really great way to spend the first half of the fourth. the second half was spent taking a small cat nap then eating dinner w/ the fam and donk then blowing stuff up like any good american does. hope you blew stuff up too. thad top of page Sunday, Jul 2nd, 2006 @ 05:26 PM hope everyone has a safe and happy fourth. if your not feeling sleepy enough to stay asleep in the wee hours of the morning on the 4th, cvo, myself, vic tong and a few others are gonna pedal out to seward leaving at, uh, 4am. sounds painful? i'm sure it will be- but fun once the blood starts flowin' it should be good. be @ cvo's @ 4am if you wanna go- or the bridge by haymarket park @ 4:30. boom! thad top of page Thursday, Jun 8th, 2006 @ 03:46 AM happy birthday donk. thad top of page Friday, Jun 2nd, 2006 @ 09:48 PM You should all head to the rad city of minneapolis in the super rad state of minnesota over the dates of july 6-8. why? because you would be able to witness/participate in the Bicycle Film Festival 2006. sure to be a good time. find out more here: http://bicyclefilmfestival.com/films_min.html been hitting the park fixed gear style and it rules. comming out of corners is the best. there is this weird sensation ofalmost being shot out of the corners since you lose so little momentum going through them. fun fun fun. and rad. its also neat to have the ability to reeally micro-manage your speed just using your legs. donks on the warpath as well. if you have the means to ride fixed off road- i highly recommend it. thad top of page Friday, May 26th, 2006 @ 10:23 AM 12 hours of madness tomorrow night starting @ 6pm @ branched oak. be there. hope to snap some photos and maybe even ride. there's a concept. its kinda hard to do when you are coughing like there's no tomorrow. no good. thad top of page Thursday, May 18th, 2006 @ 06:37 PM k. here's what's been going on at everyone's favorite cramped and crowded bike shop in the last couple of weeks...er so. Super busy, that's about as creative as i can be to describe the conditions around here, EP and I are running wide open from 8:45 til right about 6pm and it's very satisfying and tiring all at once. When i first opened i didn't think i'd ever have this many customers, so to all those that have been coming in thank you, and if we are short or sound grumpy, pay us now attention, we're just trying to get the work done, and feel grateful people want our help. somewhere around the first of this month the shop celebrated (basically a muffled "yay" between the two of us, and back to work) our Two year anniversary, and i know that i said we were to have a proper celebration, but it might have to wait until a later summer date. stoked none the less. on that very day, may 1st to be exact, we had some hooligans from Quality Bicycle Products (our biggest supplier) out of MPLS minnesota stop by on their way back from the Fruita Fat Tire fest. Brauer, Zito, Chief and Blake, all who work there came in, had a beer, skidded the beer bike, wheelied the Pugsley and bought stuff, looked around and said until you come up to MPLS again, good work, thanks and have a great day. nice to see those fellars again. Zito and Brauer always have a big hand in the Homie fall fest up there and was nice to see them outside of their normal surroundings. Without QBP, our shop wouldn't function very well, they are flat out the best suppliers in the industry (don't shit yourself Trek) hands down. and what else? well, Clarke Dolton, manitou king mechanic and my good buddy from way back is in town so expect some fun times to be had. he and i have worked together at many a bike shop not to mention he's a rad buddy to have. There's a Vanilla in the shop so come on down and check it out, not to many chances to see a bike like this in person (vanilla bicycles out of Portland, not some dumb rear shock for a full squishy). thanks go out to Conrad for the help this last month, he just comes in, checks to see if EP and i are busy, and if so, starts helping customers. He might not ever know how truly helpful that is, thanks man. well, cant' think of much else, except maybe that today was my last day paying off the Snap-On tools man, yeah, now i'm rich...uh..wait. stop in, say hi, go on the tuesday night ride, just have fun on a bike. nate top of page Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006 @ 02:15 PM ha! june 6, 2006 is national day of slayer. check it out: http://www.nationaldayofslayer.org/ reign in blood! thad top of page Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006 @ 10:37 AM man- what a great ride last night. as many as 22 folks all rolling down the mo-pac. only one stop before eagle where we went to the one eyed dog saloon for burgers, fries guiness and lies. oh yeah- a bunch of flat tires too. at 84th street, comming back into town, me, crook and jt departed from the group and headed for south street which we took all the way west. was sweet b/c there were no cars so we had the street to ourselves and we were flying. weather was perfect. i thouhgt i would be home around 8:30 or so. was surprisesd to walk in the door and see the clock read 11:28pm. it was all worth it though. quote of the night goes to conrad, which none of us can seem to remember word for word, but was something to the effect of "i cover more area on my bike then from my house to the mill." conrad=funny guy. anyway- super fun time. thad top of page Monday, May 1st, 2006 @ 01:10 PM happy b-day MWC! 2 years- who-woulda-thunk? lincoln ve-low ish #4 done and ready to read. interview w/ mike ferrentino- editor of BIKE mag, a scene perspective from bellingham, wa, vic tong revealed!!! and averill talks about an old bike- and music/art and such. oh- as much as i wish the zine was free- they aren't- so pay to play punk. 2 bucks. tuesday night shop ride- the whiskey loop- walton trail to 127th north to the dietrich (sp?) trail and back in. its a good one. see you there. thad top of page Saturday, Apr 15th, 2006 @ 10:11 PM hey everyone- happy easter. all's good- not to much to report. nate almost sliced part of his body off- but didn't. thats good. the park has been fun and fast and in good condition. donk got a promotion and is now the head donkey in charge. new job w/ a new bike to match- another kogswell. i've been told i need to be @ the shop more so i think i'll do that. speaking of working @ bike shops, kirk's heading north to do just that. good luck buddy. i hope you'll be my montana connection. i gave up coffee for lent so now w/ it being just after midnight and it is officially easter- i am drinking some primo coffee. to be honest, at this point- bottom of the barrel 7-11 sludge would be primo. i missed you coffee. well- all for now- look for more later. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Thursday, Apr 6th, 2006 @ 12:27 PM got home from work and couldn't sleep so headed out on a fixed gear road ride. headed south out of town on 14th street. rode past wilderness and contemplated stopping to see the trail conditions but by that time i was half way through my battle w/ the wind- head on. got to a little relief when i hit saltillo road and started heading east then to 27th st and back into town which was a snap. the wind was pushing me faster then i was pedaling which on a fixie is a good sensation. got home from a cool ride to a cool shower and now, i thought it only appropriate to listen to miles davis's "birth of the cool." are you cool? thad top of page Friday, Mar 31st, 2006 @ 09:40 PM there's an elementary school a half a block from our house so this afternoon me and my two oldest daughters headed on over for some derby action which quickly changed to me chasing them around the playground while they screamed their heads off. the younger of the two eventually pooped out and went home so her older sister and i rolled around the 'hood for a bit. no real point here other then it was good to get out and the girls made me feel like a kid for the afternoon. as a side note, i have a passive curiosity/fear of mountain lions. that said- i find the following link fascinating as these people apparantly have a live in pet mtn lion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi9PAAJogHc&search=Tigur thad top of page Wednesday, Mar 29th, 2006 @ 03:35 PM another stellar tues night ride is now history. mud, mud, mud, broken spokes, broken hearts and bob's tavern. what more could you want? or not want? i guess i didn't want the snapped spokes but what are you gonna do? i guess i could go on a diet. nah. bicycling mag? who would have thought.... thad top of page Tuesday, Mar 28th, 2006 @ 09:23 AM game on. thad top of page Tuesday, Mar 28th, 2006 @ 09:20 AM hey! yeah you. tonight is tuesday, yeah i know you know it's tuesday, but you know what that means? you better show up for the mayhem of the Tuesdaynightrideofsorts. listen up, it's going to be sloshy so get yer wet gear on, find the fenders, and be ready for some all over town, you follow me cause i said fun. iffin you don't want to follow me tuff, it's tuesday and it's our ride, you don't like it, start yer own ride and i'll follow you. so there. les all see if Thad can ride the stairs again tonight on the fixie without his bars giving out on him and hitting the concrete, me too for that matter, no more fixie/wheelie loopouts. i think the big question here on everyones minds at the MWC Corporate Takeover Headquarters of The World, is this: will super Hoss show up with his new found Skills and lay the patch down? we will see. Nate "taking this blog back over one post at time from dear old Thad" Woodman top of page Monday, Mar 27th, 2006 @ 03:09 PM donk sent me this link for some video footage of monster track '06: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1183066290461977597&q=monster+track watch out for that bus! roller derby!!! thad top of page Saturday, Mar 25th, 2006 @ 09:04 AM stopped into the Mill this AM before showing up to work 2 hours early for no good reason at all, just like to sit in the shop with the lights off staring out the window i guess. Had a great conversation with Dale from the Mill, always fun to talk with him for sure. he remembers all the original French manufactures and probably has one of each of their bikes somewhere in his house. The Mill, lincoln landmark for sure. Thanks to Jamie Y. for a great Latte as well. been a while. i think i even saw a whole pickup load of vintage cruisers in the back of Scott Johnsons pickup, your wife know about those? this has been a fun winter for sure, it really was never that slow, shop rides were great and continue to be more fun each week, Eric still hasn't become totally fed up with me and my daily antics, Thad needs to work more, just excited for the spring rides after work and seeing more of you coming into the shop, and to those that made this winter work, my deepest thanks. well, ride on. nate top of page Thursday, Mar 23rd, 2006 @ 02:30 AM check out this short doc: http://www.current.tv/studio/media/1845000 tuesday night shop ride was a scorcher- well not a scorcher, i guess as that word seems to suggest some element of heat. but it was fun. more folks then i assumed showed up as we headed over to campus for some follow the leader and fall on your butt action. i had my first experience riding down steps on a fixed gear and my first experience flipping over my handlebars going down steps on a fixed gear. no harm, no foul. nate demonstrated that doing wheelies on a fixie w/ no rear brake is a new challenge. new-commer alter-nate was in full effect representing the next generation hanging w/ the old geezers. vic tong was even there! the evening ended w/ belly's full of pizza and beer @ yia yia's and my blurry ride home. good enough. thad top of page Monday, Mar 20th, 2006 @ 01:01 PM so, road down to work this morning, pete road as well, and i have it on good measure that Hoss made it to work by bicycle. You know, we haven't had any sort of winter really at all, so what the heck right? i mean, as long as we're all still alive why not embrace the weather and ride your bike. Eric was interviewed by the Weather Channel in front of the shop for riding in the so called "storm", but he failed to look the camera in the eye, so they didn't use him. The lady at one point even asked "so do you ride in the snow to feel tough", uh no lady, we do it cause it's a hell of a lot more fun to ride a bike, and that's what we sell and work on, so instead of supporting Bush's efforts to drill in Alaska, why not pedal the bike. ride a bike, feel alive. all for now nate top of page Friday, Mar 17th, 2006 @ 04:04 PM hoppy St.Patrocks day, where are all of you? the standard crows on the wire are nowhere to be found, not to mention nobody bringing in free StPat's beer to eric and Eye. boohoo for us. one nice customer did leave us with two Harp's for a tunemeup Eric did, yeah for him, great way to start off. great show tonight at Knickerbockers, Ideal Cleaners are set to play somewhere in the neighborhood of 10pm and as usual, will probably rock. Super Hoss,JB and maybe JC will be going. the rest of you should show up. prerock get to get ther at YIAYIA's. you know the drill. ride yer bike, keeps the fuzz at bay. your indentured servant nate, oh and eric too. top of page Saturday, Mar 4th, 2006 @ 04:52 AM this taken from bluecollarmtb.com: Around 5:30 Thursday morning, an Athens cop was making the rounds near the center of the Ohio University campus. He soon came upon a bicycle with a sticker that read “this bike is a pipe bomb” chained outside the school-owned Oasis restaurant. Taking the sticker at its word, the cop blocked off the area and called in the bomb squad from the Columbus police 65 miles away. The bicycle was first blasted with a high-pressure spray of water courtesy of the fire department. Next it was dismantled using the “jaws of life.” Inside the wet shredded metal they found nothing. thad top of page Tuesday, Feb 28th, 2006 @ 09:13 AM round up! shop ride tonight- usual time, usual place. and according to the inturdnet at 6pm its gonna be sixty glorious degrees. so if your not there, well then, i just don't know. thad top of page Monday, Feb 27th, 2006 @ 10:59 AM a pretty big group showed up yesterday afternoon out @ branched oak. was a good ride. did 2 laps which was about all i was good for. it was fun though and my legs are sore today. donk sent me a link to a new documentery comming out called "pedal" about NYC messengers. you can watch it here: http://www.petersutherland.net/Pedal.mov thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Thursday, Feb 23rd, 2006 @ 10:35 AM i can't believe Thad skipped the ride which was alley's all the way and ended in a cornfield to the east to sit inside and listen to speakers that cost more than my house. crazy. plus he drove there. but i better quit now or he'll not come by to see us today with the latest instalment of Lincoln Ve-low, which has an interview with someone you might like to read about. hey, one of these showed up to the shop today. http://www.philwood.com/Price%20List/SpokeCutting&ThreadingMachine.pdf i don't know if this link will work, might have to do it like back in the 82 and cut and paste. as many wheels as Eric has been building, even through the winter, this will be super beneficial. we survived Minnyapplepuss and the QBP gathering. thanks to Todd and Susie for the hospitality and to Hurl for the Coffee and to GeneO for being GeneO. also got to meet Gary that owns Gaansari cycles. check em out. www.gaansari.com back to work. nate top of page Tuesday, Feb 21st, 2006 @ 02:54 PM shop ride tonight. 6pm @ the shop. be there. i won't be though. i'm gonna be off torturing myself by listening to audio equiptment that i can't now or probably ever be able to afford. but its fun to listen...like it is to pedal- which you should do- down to the shop @ 6pm tonight, dude. thad top of page Monday, Feb 6th, 2006 @ 05:07 PM tuesday night alley cat scramble, show up and see what it's all about. E.P. found a 2 miler so we're golden. make it. nate top of page Wednesday, Feb 1st, 2006 @ 02:23 PM Another tuesday night shop ride in the books, and also the first dirtball alley tour. with wilderness park more than likely muddy after the rain we decided to take the ride to the streets, or at least the Alleys. made our way from downtown over to the prescott area and behind union college for a rowdy ride through the better alleys in this town of ours. Eric and i have been wanting to do this for quite some time and last night worked, it was super fun and actaully faster than our rides through wilderness. lots of people showed up and i think everyone had fun. Showen kept getting thirsty but we worked it out. probably doing the same thing next tuesday so get ready. nate top of page Monday, Jan 30th, 2006 @ 09:25 PM tues night shop ride. 6pm @ the shop. urban alley assault. be there... thad top of page Thursday, Jan 26th, 2006 @ 02:08 PM cool unit 29 fixie @ the fixed gear gallery: http://fixedgeargallery.com/2006/jan/ChrisPloch_2.htm thad top of page Friday, Jan 20th, 2006 @ 11:32 AM in the "Get Fit" section of the Lincoln Journal Star today is a full-page article written by a Minneapolis journalist on winter riding/commuting. check it. thad ps- now that Conrad got a san jose, is showen next? top of page Thursday, Jan 19th, 2006 @ 03:45 PM i thought of something else. any of you folks with some extra cash laying around ought to think about getting a Willits Brand 29" frame made by Wes Williams as he is now back in the business, and you have him to thank for getting the 29" nanoraptor made. He was in Crested Butte but has moved back to Austin Texas, which i didn't really care for until Len moved down. anyhow, i'll put up their website when it's done, and like that, i'm done too. nate top of page Thursday, Jan 19th, 2006 @ 03:24 PM www.swobo.com get it there or get it here. so conrad was the first to buy a Bianchi, and it was the San Jose. he also wanted you all to know that. so now you know, and man we appreciate the business for sure, even though it has been a super busy week for labors, the nice temps have folks all messed up. anybody interested in a used set of Jones H-bars let me know, i might be willing to let go my set that were on the Chester as i want another set of curved units and these are cut down straights. oh, maybe around $115, down from $165. anyone riding this weekend? maybe sunday morning or later, possibly L&C? all the nuze i have till later. nate top of page Monday, Jan 16th, 2006 @ 09:20 AM man- its hard to go wrong w/ 60+ degree weather on 1/15. rode throught the park w/ nate, hoss and showen. ran into jt and later c-rad, jb and his wife jb. thats confusing. about a quarter of the way into the park i stopped and took off my arm warmers and still managed to sweat. it was sweet. also rode fixed sat and sun through thte park. it was super fun- way less sketchy then i anticipated though i wasn't riding at mach len mason speeds either. hope you all got out this weekend. but, if you didn't then make sure you make it out for the mwc tues night ride. 6pm @ the shop. yep. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Tuesday, Jan 10th, 2006 @ 09:56 AM First get yer Swobo gear hear. Next, tonight is the first unofficial official shop ride of the O6'. I suppose the park will be sloppy due to the fact it's going to be warm today, so we are going to ride the slopack from the shop to Walton, then over north to the dietrich trail, then back into the town. what does this mean? it means that Showlin Master can go on the ride since it will end up by his house on the way back and he doesn't have to worry about gettin home in the dark all alone from wilderness. so no excuses Showin, we made a friendly route for you and Hoss, after moving out to friggin waverly with jose'. buy swobo goods. The first phase of reconstruction here at the MWC world fredquarters is upon us. Dan,josh, and the other conrad dropped off the legs for the new rack to hold the vintage bikes, to free up space in the front of the shop for bikes that are actually for sale. word. good to have friends with means and a really big Laaazer. thanks to the buddies. nate "no funny moniker today" woodman top of page Saturday, Jan 7th, 2006 @ 05:07 AM another cool link sent to me by donk: http://www.idearealm.com/video/RCP_12-27-05_at_Night.mpg makes me miss riding @ wilderness. the crazy limb swinging len mason is back in stinkin' lincoln this weekend so watch out! thad top of page Friday, Jan 6th, 2006 @ 08:42 AM here's a cool link my buddy justin sent me: http://www.pandora.com/ you can enter in a band or musician or whatever and it will custom make you a radio station based on that band and band's that are "like" them. technology. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Sunday, Jan 1st, 2006 @ 10:19 AM get your fix and listen to styx in 2006. sappy new year. thad top of page Friday, Dec 30th, 2005 @ 02:19 PM oh yeah- and the shop will be closed on Monday, 1/2. word--again. thad top of page Friday, Dec 30th, 2005 @ 11:59 AM on sat, 12/31, the shop will only be open until 3pm- and no labors will take place. word. thad top of page Thursday, Dec 29th, 2005 @ 11:42 PM man. bummed. if you are looking for bicycle related stuff, look elsewhere for the time being. derek bailey- a hero of mine- musically or otherwise- has perished. what to say? i don't know. he was an inspiration to me both as to how to approach playing music and listening to music. he was an innovator. he was inspirational. he was truly a genius. man... i wanted to see both him and johnny cash prior to their deaths and lost on both accounts. still hoping for willie nelson- but thats neither here nor there. what derek bailey did was not for everyone for sure. but he touched my life as being an outsider and at the same time re-inventing the guitar. what a guy. check it:http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=8386 thad top of page Thursday, Dec 29th, 2005 @ 12:29 PM bee on kees in the shop. you read write- i spelled wrong. yes-sir-ree bob- we here at mwc are now proud dealers of the bianchi brand of two wheeled goodness. and boy are we stoked. i think bianchi's are sweet. not one but two fixed gears? who does that? bianchi- thats who. single speeds- you betcha. come into the shop and check 'em out. vic tong rides a bianchi- you should to. thad top of page Friday, Dec 23rd, 2005 @ 12:28 PM "y control" by yeah yeah yeahs. hoss wins. thad top of page Friday, Dec 23rd, 2005 @ 10:52 AM ok- last post- i promise. well, i won't promise but i will tentatively schedule this to be my last post of the day. so to anyone who watches the messenger vid- someone, anyone- please tell me who that first song is by. its driving me crazy. i know i know it but i can't place it. i think i still have some old style floating on the brain from last night that isn't helping. so if you know- contact me at the adress below. please! thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Friday, Dec 23rd, 2005 @ 10:25 AM blogs blogs- everywhere blogs. donk sent me this link- super cool messenger video: http://www.sketchspace.com/moviePages/evenTheGirlsDSL.html thad top of page Friday, Dec 23rd, 2005 @ 09:24 AM thad ain't messin around with his zine, it's here and it's cool. look how the "it's" almost line up in the previous two sentences. so thad gave Eric and i rad flasks with the "MWC" corporate logo on them, not to mention some Makers Mark to fill them up with. watch out. what a super good guy, not to mention he just let himself in after hours and placed them on our work bench's like a little Thad santa. man, he's right, what's not to like about christmas, even if the kids would rather have XBOX360's and no bike, that's there problem. merry holidays folks, and thanks to those who have been in and all the other folks who have helped us out this past year and a half. nate top of page Friday, Dec 23rd, 2005 @ 12:55 AM so- the new issue of lincoln ve-low is down @ the shop. uno buck, shmuck. pay up. but more importantly- went for a cruise w/ the donk tonight out to the ups hq so he could pick up a package only to have graced into my presence a new swobo cap in the name of Christmas. holy moly! not to mention the "put the fun between your legs" t-shirt along with a super small super bright led light. man-o-man, whats not to like about Christams? whats not to like about the donk? nuthin! and i don't just say that b/c he gives me kick ass Christmas gifts. so then i rolled down to yia yia's to meet up w/ nate, joy a.i.d, hoss, clark, bonsall...even kw was there- not to mention katie and matt slaven in town for the festivities. good times for sure. went over to the bricktop for a bit to see cvo and dan. good times, good times. point? i hope you have a merry Christmas. thad top of page Monday, Dec 12th, 2005 @ 11:32 AM man- not one but two consecutive days riding sat and sun. granted- just cruised about town- but who cares. it beat the previous two weeks of not once throwing my leg over a bicycle. going out here in a bit as well- its supposed to near 50 today. welcome to the tropics. thad top of page Friday, Dec 9th, 2005 @ 03:08 PM don't you love it when you find something you forgot you had? today i was doing laundry- during which time i took a shower. after getting out- all clean-like- i went to get dressed. when i got to the sock part of my dressing routine, i noticed i was washing all my socks that provided any sort of substatial protection from the cold. or so i thought. i dug in my sock drawer and found tucked way in the back a warm, comfy pair of "snap-on" socks that nate gave back when it was warm out. man- am i stoked. and so are my feet. thanks nate for making my day. thad top of page Thursday, Dec 8th, 2005 @ 09:57 AM man, been riding the Pugsley everyday since last friday and it's super fun. you can ride over everything, on the ice in the creek along the path, until the ice breaks. super good traction and flotation. i was warmer riding to work this am than i am right now in the shop. we don't have control of the temps in here as the bank next door sets it, and as of right now, were at 54degrees. yup, cold. time to start sweeping and mopping to get the blood going in my fingers. all for now nate top of page Wednesday, Nov 30th, 2005 @ 09:13 AM Alright, first, this was my blog and i'm taking it back, well thad will eventually beat me again, but for now i'm going to keep on bloggin. second, news flash! Karate Monkeys from the dynamic four at Surly are back in stock, both flavors, brown and black, but they are going fast, so if you'd like one, come in put 20% down and we'll order it. by default we'll have a couple hanging on the walls in stock, but you never now. 29" wheels are the best thing going and you wouldn't want to be left out in the cold, no would you? all the other kids are doing it... third, speaking of the cold, it is, but not really and wouldn't it be nice if we actually recieved a royal dumping of snow? yup it would. and what better way to go out and goof around in the snow than, NO, not cross country skis, but rather by Pugsley. if it ever snows, demos on the shop Pug are available, so unless you tackle brent Hermes for his, this might be your chance to try the 4"ers, as in the tires. just don't get caught by Coach Burke riding the Pug on his Cross country ski trails and muffing them all up. you have been warned. oh, still relating to the cold, Thad and i are making a limited, and what really around here isn't, Merino Wool full zip cool kid riding sweaters, more like a comfy not so racery tight top. they will be in three different solid colors and have the MWC Corporate Logo on the left chest all embroidery style. so, better get here quick, i think they will be $70 bucks, but don't back me into the corner on that one. fourth, yup still typing, if you haven't figured out that it is more fun to commute to work by bike than the smogmobile than you might want to do some rethinking. it's never really too cold to ride, and after your going you usually end up on the hot and sweaty side not cold and shivery. just gear yourself up correctly and get out there and actually have fun on the way to work. well, that's it, and has anyone seen E.P. i think WEEN absconded off to the next show and took my favorite head mechanic. oh well, least he left his Tools. all for now nate "back to fixing bikes, and not brooms" woodman Fifth, "but you said you were finished", yeah well, i remembered something and until someone else is in charge, i'm adding this last note. If you haven't picked up one of Thads copies of his zine "lincoln Ve-low" well then you should, i think he'll be bringing more down today, they are one buck, and fun reading, plus pictures of Hoss in there, that's good stuff. top of page Tuesday, Nov 29th, 2005 @ 04:29 PM well, you know it's winter in the bike shop when you have stooped to the standard bike mechanic low of hacking a mid 70's raliegh's front end off and bending the crud out of the rear triangle, and then attaching the comfiest of comfy bootleg saddles to it and calling it a stool. yup, it happened, the first person not to realize it's tippy nature is going over. ah, winter. so what's that mean? anybody have that fun winter project that they'd like done? we've got the time. all for now nate head chair maker and sometimes bike mechanic. top of page Tuesday, Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 11:35 PM i have a few copies of my new zine Lincoln Ve-Low down @ the shop. covers the 2005 homie fall fest- gersib reviews the salsa dos niner and i interview the donk along w/ some thoughts on music and literature. if you live out of town and want one go here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:11&item=7199043072 or contact me @ the below e-mail address and i'll get you one. this concludes my shamelss plug. thad thad@monkeywrenchcycles.com top of page Tuesday, Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 01:45 PM some cool photos from the 2005 fixed gear symposium can be found here: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005symposium/photos/Rides/index.html makes me wanna ride my bike...but then most things do. except for fried chicken. that just makes me wanna take a nap. thad top of page Monday, Nov 21st, 2005 @ 05:22 AM well, i'm sure if your reading this then you are probably already aware of this weekends 'cross races here in lincoln- and you know what a jaw dropper they were. if you weren't there- it went like this- tony wilhelm is a cyclo cross maniac. everyone, me included knew he was fast, fast, fast and has legs of steel. he was NE 'cross state champ last year which about sums that up. but to win the A's, two days in a row and on saturday by a minute- oh yeah- and on a fixed gear? wtf? who does that? he does apparently and pretty well. i wasn't present sunday but on sat- it was almost comical how much ground he would gain on each lap. half of us nutjobs on "hooligan hill" would all simultaneously shake our heads in disbelief on each lap and the other half would rub their eyes wondering if what they were seeing was for real. and the fact that he was on a fixed gear- i could go on and on about that one. nate and i were talking about that and i wondered out loud if perhaps being on a fixed gear somehow actually helped him. nate made the point that a good rider is a good rider is a good rider. after watching him saturday i'm convinced that tony would have mopped the floor on a tricycle---which would also be a fixed gear incidentally. anyway- it was amazing to watch. i think tony has good things in his future for sure. other honorable mentions were mr. matt pewthers also rocking the fixed gear. since our good buddy cornbread couldn't race- matt took him along in spirit by adhering a piece of wrapped cornbread on his downtube. at first i though it was a twinky. yummmmm- twinkies. our man nate woodman was on single speed in full effect. nate has fun at races no matter what which is sweet. in years past- 'cross races have been pretty competitive- to competitive for my tastes. i suppose they are races and competitive by nature but i think some people were taking it to far by taking themselves a little to seriously. it seemed this attitude had been relaxed a bit this weekend which was refreshing. mr lefler needs a big thank you for setting everything up. lots of work goes into the behind the curtains aspects of races. but man, whether it be a ringing cowbell until you can't take anymore cowbell, shouting at the top of his lungs, supplying pringles, sunflower seeds and cookies to the idiots on the hill or just being an all around cool guy- that award goes to cvo. he is the head cheerleader and king media correspondent making real time photo and audio updates to the lincolnbiking blog. so say you are in tahiti- thanks to the efforts of our gb cvo- you could in real time know what was going on @ a 'cross race in lincoln. cvo is the espn of lincoln cycling- only better. espn never gave me pringles. or offered me a sweatshirt b/c it was freezing. cvo even made banners for the race- one of which was a firey hell promotion for his blog. well cvo- once again- hats off. you rule. so if you missed this weekend- you have one more chance to see some nebraska 'cross action before next year. the weekend of dec 2-3 @ branched oak lake are the finals. be there or forever regret it. thad ps- i had kfc for dinner tonight. top of page Saturday, Nov 19th, 2005 @ 06:42 AM nothing- and i mean nothing is better then fried chicken. thad top of page Friday, Nov 18th, 2005 @ 09:18 AM as thad said below in the longest,er shortest post in MWC history, it is cold. but it could be a lot colder. so this is a nice segway into my topic i want to right about and since this is technically my blog, i'm going to. so, we are going to make a batch of Surly longsleeve Wool jerseys with the MWC logo on the front and back, embroidered style, but if you want one you need to come in and pay for it up front, why you ask? because it's winter and this is a bike shop. So, we need to know size and then take your money. they will be $115 including the embroidery cost, and this is a good deal why? because since you asked the regular Surly jerseys are $120 without bodging them with our logo. anyhow, get down and pay the man if you'd like to sport one. my second cold weather bit is this: wouldn't you like to ride around in the cold with more comfy and useful leggings? i thought so, so how about some rad knickers from Hypnotic Designs? we've been a dealer, the first in the state, for about a year, and their Hankster knickers are just what you need. You can put your longjohns or riding tights underneath and go exploring. Thad has two pairs and think they are they are better than Pumpkin Pie, but not better than fried chicken. so Hankster knickers for everybody, and they are going to be available soon. before christmas. we have a Large green in stock and a worn one time and returned medium green and a pair of womens in medium black. so, be cool like thad and go for a ride in em and still look nifty going into the Mill or the Coffee house afterwards. http://www.hypnoticdesigns.com/'05hankster.html your pal in the trenches nate oh, and bring in your winter projects because we can get them done quicker now than ever. beat the rush. oh, and another thing, go to the cross races this weekend at Pintofbeers park (that's pioneers to all of you who couldn't get my real tricky play on words.) out again still nate top of page Wednesday, Nov 16th, 2005 @ 08:58 AM cold. top of page Friday, Nov 18th, 2005 @ 09:11 AM HEY! everybody's at the red football game so we're having a sale, for the remainder of the day. seriously, if you read this and make it in here before 5pm we'll give you 35% off anything in the store. get yer track shoes on. nate no, not really, but you thought so huh? top of page Friday, Nov 11th, 2005 @ 08:35 PM hey, life is weird man. and by that i mean it's not always as it appears. is a place more than a sum of it's means? you fill a space with some product and some ideas come with it, but is it transmitted through the idea? who knows. i hope this is more than a bike shop, because if it isn't there're plenty of good ones. that's it. blog out. nate top of page Tuesday, Nov 1st, 2005 @ 01:00 PM Unit 29" frames are in at the MWC Corporate headquarters. they are SS or Geared Canti or disc no i'm not making this up, they have mounts for all your pleasure. come get'm nate top of page Tuesday, Nov 1st, 2005 @ 03:23 AM here we go. sat- nate and ep picked me up around 2:30 and we headed over to pick up the showen master and hoss. how five bikes, five guys and all their stuff fit into a chevy tahoe w/ a two bike rack i still don't know. lots of cramming and shoving and slamming and about 15 bungee chords. crammed but somehow still comfortable. nate gave the bounce test early on and all was set. off to minneapolis for the homie fall fest. rolled into todd and susie seiler's place where the wills fam was already at. drank some beers and threw some coins at vic's head before calling it a night. rise and shine sun morning to rain and a pounding headache that stayed w/ me the rest of the day. the rain did not. ate some bagels then off we went in the drizzle to liquor lyle's to meet up for the main event. had some beers sunday morning style then we were off for the heir and hound which got me and hoss good and lost for a bit. happened to see gene from one on one so followed him to the bonfire and the shenanigans. the rest of the day went like this- drank beer, port and some hot wine that i can't remember what it was called but was super good. participated in a relay race and damn near won then drank more of the above mentioned drinks along with hanging out w/ some of the coolest, most inviting and friendly people ever. watched showen assume the take no prisoners mode in the relay race as he was taken riders out. the mwc crew won longest traveled award scoring nate a sweet one of a kind t-shirt and me a tugnut which i have been needing for about two months. hung out in the trees until about 5:30 when we went w/ john form the now defunct kenwood cyclery and his girlfriend and one of their friends to country bar for some beers and dinner. once their, the cheet realized that he lost his digital camera which at that point had 120 photos from the day on it. he was bumned. super bumned. he was not talking and denying free shots and everything. we felt bad for our good buddy so we headed back to the place right outside the woods where we were and showen had wrecked going to the country bar. in about 13 seconds, ep found the camera--- in tact and working. well, needless to say- showen started talking and taking people up on their free drinks. since we were right there- we decided to head back to the fire and see if anyone was still there. right outside the woods we saw a few remaining souls including hurl who does cars-r-coffins and gene that runs one on one bicycle studio. urban assaulted it downtown to a bar that was nice and quiet and warm. the rain had ceased early on but it was damp and dreary out for the remainder of the day. somehow fitting for the days events but the warmth was welcomed...at least to me. hung out at the bar for the remainder of the evening and made plans to eat breakfast the next morning then go for a ride both of which didn't happen. sleep won out. long ride back to the seiler's but it was sweet. super foggy but the images stuck in my head from that ride are perfect. woke up the next morning and ate and said our goodbye's then headed down to one on one for a bit which is one of the coolest if not the coolest shops i have ever been in. gene has it dialed. hung out for a bit then headed back to neeebraska. the whole thing really could not have been any better and this is why- the people there absolutely rule. they are the coolest, warmest, nicest people i think i have ever met. i most of the time get certain vibes when i go to cycling related events- primarily races. i get that highschool- your not in my clique so beat it type feeling. there wasn't even a trace of that in minneapolis. everyone was just stoked to be there and see everyone else and that was that. there was absolutely no posturing or attitude. i think hoss said that it was more punk rock then punk rock and i agree. plus- minneapolis seemed to be a super cool town that is very bicycle friendly. downtown has designated bike lanes in the middle of the road. i could keep going and make this even longer but i'll stop. big th