a little Key Wierdness to warm your day

Handcuffs for bike locks are as common as rusty fenders here in Key West; but this awesomely strange combination of handlebar and bar ends is certainly not. I wondered who the rider was as I passed this bicycle going into the Bottle Cap Lounge as well as when I left. Perhaps the owner was sitting next to me? Perhaps they are seven or eight feet tall? Or enjoy riding standing up with good posture? I dunno, but bless them for making me smile!


Many people here simply do not have cars and use bicycles for everything; commuting to work, grocery shopping and towing their jet-skis! This dude prolly ain't getting into the large chainring anytime soon.


A fixie with a basket isn't too weird, but jumping sharks!?!? Really!?! Luckily we didn't have to dodge any this night during our pier tour. I bet a bite from one would mos def leave a bruise.


But...if a jumping shark had attacked us, I would have whipped out my sword and used my pirate skills to battle to the death! I have also found it to be very effective when drunk tourists stumble into the street in front of me while riding. A loudly yelled "ARRRRRRR" and a sword over my head usually sends them running back to a sidewalk of laughing bystanders. (yeah, go ahead and call me trash for not yet taking down my Christmas lights!)



We've all seen the Hartford messengers stacking their fixies on parking meters and poles in front of Mad Dawgs, Vegas and other spots. Well, down here in Key Weird, we hang our cruisers in trees when going out for swanky dinners. There's actually a second cruiser in the back of the tree and both are locked up in the branches.

a few more after the jump...




This installation, part of Sculpture Key West can be found at Fort Zack until April. Have a seat here in the shade if the sun and beach gets too hot for you.



Considering I took this during the Holiday Lights Bicycle Tour, it isn't really weird. There were also a few other bicycles with dogs, actually a lot, but only one trike with a dog and so many lights. Well done!


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Do office chairs belong in bicycle racks?

Sometimes you don’t want to walk to the bar. Obviously (i hope) driving isn’t an option. I suppose for some reason you may choose not to ride. And, every once in a while, i am sure we all will ask a friend to push us to the bar in an office chair. It happens. Where should the chair be left? This and other hardhitting deep issues of Key West bicycle culture are being discussed and debated. Well, maybe not, but they sure make funny photos. I'm going to continue to post random postcards from this crazy little tropical island as well from roadtrips on the BBB every now and then, but mostly I will be writing and photographing for my new blog, Key West Velo.


Expect more of my same blurry photos and long winded stories but without any snow or ice...ever. Although, I must admit, the cooler weather down here lately has been great for riding. Mid 50's at night are chilly if you're sitting around, but feels great if speeding around on a bike. And we got lots of bicycles here of every type and rustitude. Here's a typical sight outside El Alamo when Scott, Dave and I are cruising around. There's thousands and thousands of bikes everywhere, I love it. Its truly the best way to get around.


Here's an unusual sight inside on Christmas night...IT SNOWED!!! Even though it was plasticky and not cold, people went nuts! BTW, this spot has $1 PBR's and $2 Yuenglings all day every day! mmmmm!

I will also be contributing to the Fixed Gears Bicycle Shop Blog and writing and photographing all the assorted road, time trial, cruiser, choppers and various crazy looking bikes that come through the shop. Its my new fulltime job; managing, organizing, learning and having a great time at Fixed Gears Bicycle Shop. The links between the two are hard to find, so here they both are. That was an awkward paragraph, my bad! But life is good, i encourage everyone to follow their hearts and manifest their dreams.

Fight the winter blues and live vicariously someplace warm through the blog, or plan a trip and come on down and visit! Hope to see y'all down here smiling and pedaling.

Ride on,

chillwill
Key West Velo

click read more for a naughty elf picture





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White Castle Bicycle Drama

I am starting to suspect that fast food and bicycles should not be mixed, though, most likely, the the problem is just the fast food! After a good night of drinking, it was decided I would be forced to try White Castle for the first time. Never had it before, and was kinda excited to finally have one of them damn shooters!


We spied Issac pedaling by and he soon joined us and brought his bicycle inside as he did not have the key to his lock. As we entered, the register person and the cook noticed the bike and shouted angrily, “Get that thing outta here!” Issac again tried to explain that he didn’t have his lock and he was only waiting for us to order food.


The cook then broke into a frenzy of angry yelling and gestures, “That guy is NOT getting served. Nope!” Then more to himself as he took the order from the two people ahead of us in line, “I ain’t serving them, bringing that bike in here, don’t know what they was thinking, crazy-ass, I AINT’T serving them.” Then to us as the cook hooted and hollered in agreement, “Excuse me sir, we are not going to serve you with that bicycle in here, please take it outside. Issac relented and went outside, he smartly was nor ordering any food.

We got back to the apartment and I suffered through one of those “burgers”. Shit that was bad! The “meat” was like 3 sheets of construction paper slapped together. BLAAHHHH! Never ever again. But, those round chicken ring things…

And how do you burn off bad food or get ready for the Monday Night Ride…


Pollard, pedi-cab driver with skills, about to get some air at Mikey and Jason’s crib, errr..make that ballroom!



And here is the rest of it.

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late night bicycle beer delivery

It was wonderful being back in da 'beat for a week; especially all the late night bike rides with friends i miss dearly. I forgot what kissing the river with Krash and Joel was like and on Tuesday night mistakenly brought out the island fixie. whoops! Fatter tires, gears and brakes were far more useful than a basket...especially on the Myrtle Street Tuck'n'Bomb! We picked up Rick enroute to PHH and enlisted him for the ride and had a great time. Playing chase at the EH ghetto velodrome with four bikes was crazy fun! Congrats to Joel for winning and taking home with him...bragging rights til next time! My biggest surprise was forgetting how shitty and potholed the roads are in da 'beat. wow! Later, on rides with my road bike, i was super happy to have 35's between my bike and I, and the roads. Props and 'nuff respect to everyone battling the crappy roads and crazy drivers in the city. Stay safe y'all.


Wednesday night Krash and I decided to ride out to Joel's spot with a sixer and give him some company. I have no idea how far we rode, but it was cool to ride Joel's commute from Windsor, though we did take an extra credit night route through Keney Park. Ha! Just as we entered at Tower Avenue a passing car yelled at us not to go in there at night. I wasn't worried about riding though as much as flatting out. But we survived and exited onto 159 and rode North.


We stopped on the bridge over the Farmington River. My biggest regret being back in CT was not taking a swim in this beautiful river's cold water. There are no rivers in Key West and right now the ocean temp is freakin' 90 degrees. Even a CT heatwave was relief for me...especially the wonderfully cool nights. Loved them!


Eventually we made it to Joel's and promptly got a tour of his camper and cracked open the beers. mmmm...beer. The ride back was fun. Joel accompanied us to Windsor Center before u-turning home. Krash certainly exploited my legs which were used to flat island riding, but i mos def beat him up a few hills; which by the way, I really miss hills. Up, down, whatever. Its all good. Hills are a much, much more fun challenge than a headwind!






And here is the rest of it.

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Showdown In Old Town recap

“I have two boats in dry dock, a busted longboard and a fuckin’ busted-ass bike.” Words spoken by Jonathon, the winner of the Summer Showdown in Old Town. Actually, RJ and Rydel arrived 5 or 10 minutes earlier, by they forgot stop #7, which was to pick up a free copy of the Blue Paper. Prolly about half the racers had to run back out of Cowboy Bill’s and around the block to the Parrot, the nearest spot to grab a copy of the weekly newspaper. Suckas! So due to this and that, the winning bicycle, a $20 cruiser, beat the roadies and the fixies!

17 people met up at the end of the White Street Pier for the island’s first alleycat race and all had a great time. We had a few DQ’s due to missed stops, but most everyone finished and got a prize. All racers got a water bottle from Fixed Gears and a koozie from Cowboy Bill's, who also hooked us up with $1 PBR’s all night. yeeee-haaaaaaw! Thanks again to Re-Cycle , Guy Harvey's Help Yourself , Conch Traders, Turtle Kraals and Bad Boy Buttitos who were super kind with donated prizes, thanks y’all! Miami Bike Scene also covered the race.

johnathon conch cruiser
pedi eddie conch cruiser but i should have had him as a roadie
rj
rydel fixie
jason
david
amy fixie
travis conch cruiser
sasha
nick
lou
george conch cruiser
matt conch cruiser



Instead of putting the manifests and maps into envelopes, they were tucked inside waterbottles donated by Fixed Gears, which was the start of the surprise coconuts and mangos checkpoint tasks. Instead of signing manifests, Ray was handing out coconuts to be delivered to a house on Olivia Street. Thanks to Randesh for the coconuts. You can find him at Help Yourself chopping them open with a machete for the delicious water inside. Help Yourself was also a stop and they made everyone do a shot of super cold juice!


Brian and Agnes worked the Olivia Street surprise stop, where conch cruisers got their manifest signed, but roadies had to take a freshly picked mango back to Fixed Gears to get a signature. I am not sure how many people realized the Bill Butler Park checkpoint was down a tiny alley only two houses away!


Maya kicked ass and rode off into the sunset on the steel (and cardboard) horse she rides. Inspired by the race, she actually made a horse for her bicycle. Well done! She worked the checkpoint on the stairs at the corner of Duval and Front and made the racers go and find a tourist and make them yell, “yeee-haaaawww!”


This is a crazy story. George, on the left thought he had DFL and realized he had lost his wallet while racing. He rushed out of Cowboy Bill’s to go look for it and Matt, on the right, showed up and stole DFL from him. Matt also had a wallet he found on the street; which turned out to be George’s wallet! Dang, this town is getting small…


This was the most fixie riders ever together on this tiny island….six of us! Amy, Amy, Patrick, ChillWill and on the far right; Peppermint Patti and Rydel who drove down from Miami for the race. Riding around Saturday night with everyone was awesome. We had road bikes, fixies, conch cruisers and even a Penny-Farthing

Click Read More for a basket full of more photos!




Patricia arrived at Turtle Kraals and climbed the stairs to the Tower Bar but could not find the checkpoint person. She borrowed a menu to prove she was there. Good thinking!


Yep, someone really raced a Penny-farther! Scott also builds custom chopper bikes. I’ll mos def get a post out soon with some of his work and contact info.


We gave Matt, DFL, this rope lock hoping his bike would get stolen and he could get a faster bike! Ironicaly, Jonothn, who came in 1st place, actually uses a rope to “lock up” his bike at racks. Really, he does it all the time. I love this town!


By the way, Matt was one of the out-of-towners, visiting from Ohio; not for the race…but on honeymoon with his beautiful wife! Congratulations! They were super cool, hope to see y’all when I’m visiting Columbus in August.


Robbie was making people, like Jason here, go down the slide at Bill Butler Park.


RJ, in between Peppermint Patti and ??, prolly could have been the winner if not for a bit of disorganization on by both of us. He arrived at Cowboy Bill’s with Rydel an out-of-towner from Miami following his wheel, and they could not find me. They got back on their bikes and pedaled all the way to Cowboy Bill’s Reloaded, a smaller sister bar towards the northern end of Duval and returned…still looking for me. I was taking photos at three checkpoints as fast as possible. They forgot to pick up the Blue Paper and while going out to get them, Jonathon and Eddie arrived, putting RJ and Rydel in 3rd and 4th.



Scott, on the left, is the rider of the Penny Farthington. I don’t remember what Peppermint Patti was showing me and Patrick is blurry and out of focus…as promised.


An adorable couple and their bicycle basket of mangos! Thanks again Brian and Agnes for helping out.


me and lou


Rydel killin' the wings! At some point at Finnegan’s Wake I wrote down a quote from PP, “I’m not surprised he has chicken in his tooth hole!”


Rydel and the King of the Wild West, Jonathon, who bought a round for everyone!

Peppermint Patti chillin'


these tats were da bomb!


peppermint patti hugging what may have been the inspiration for The Giving Tree infont of the house where Shel Silverstein lived.


david on the penny! It was a bit awkward at first, but I liked riding it. with a waaay bigger front wheel than a 29’r, curbs were nuttin’!

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drop it like its hot

Last week, locked up at the rack at Home Depot; I spotted this bicycle; which, apparently, can work it, twirp it and make money money. This bike has more moves than that last sentence has commas. 21 speeds of delight! Yeah baby yeah, your bicycle’s ass is making me randy. I was at home depot picking up parts for a prototype rack I am building to tow my kayak.


We have all ghostridden a bicycle before. Maybe to a friend’s house or back to our own spot. Its not an uncommon sight. However, seeing someone ghostride a bicycle while on a scooter is something I haven’t seen before. This dude banked a sweet left at the intersection like it was nuttin’ and just motored on his way. But where? And why? Perhaps he is enroute to have his paltry rear suspension upgraded to a Fully Active Rear.


Ironically, this is a common sight! This guy and his wagon/dog trike caravan pass by Guy Harvey’s Island Grill pretty much every shift I work. He makes decent time with a solid pedal cadence in the afternoon. But whenever he passes by at night, he pedals one slow stroke, rests for a second, and down goes the pedal on the other side.







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No Parking.... or be careful what you ask for!

I am now living in the Conch Republic, better known as Key West. Yes, technically it is in Florida, but the vibe and architecture is certainly far more Bahamian than American. Moving here after a dozen and a half visits over the last 10 years is a dream come true. The friendly people, the amazing weather, the island's charming general weirdness and the amount of bicycles have drawn me here year after year. So, how's living in a bicycle centric city!?

Lemme tell you, Portland and Berkley ain’t got nuttin’ on the bicycles here. Many people don’t even own a car to get around the four by two mile island. Bicycles, racks, pedi-cabs and trikes are everywhere! Unfortunately, this can actually be a problem when trying to get to work on time. My first waiting job ever is at the Turtle Kraals, right on the water at Key West Bight Marina; and finding bicycle parking at 10AM can be hard!


Here’s the restaurant’s employee only bicycle parking! Almost full! I got a spot this day!


But here’s a shot near the front of the restaurant with no less than seven actual bicycle racks completely full! Overflowing actually!


Even the giant anchor had bikes and trikes chained up to it! Dang! It's not even a bike rack!


This shot is for el presidente de china. Folding bicycles are actually super popular here. And the biggest retailer for such steeds? West Marine, a boating supply store! Why? Many live-aboard sailboats are anchored off shore and the owners will float in on a dingy with their folding bike and then use it to get to work, run errands around town or get to the bar. (or prolly a combo of all three) Now, that's a sweet multimodal commute!

There are many, many sweet rides all over the city and I’ll be posting more pics as soon as I can. There are mostly single speed beach cruisers, but also many mountain bikes with wide slicks. In the mean time, check out Conchscooter's blog, Key West Diary for two recent posts about bicycles: Duval Bikes and More Duval bikes. Great posts!

I met a dude who rides old school fixed gears, I mean OLD school as in pre-1900, but haven’t seen any of his rides yet! I hope to soon. I am told there’s a dude on a blue track bike too, but I haven’t met him or his bike yet. And that’s is for fixies! TJ, come visit and bring the Steamroller!

Its super convenient and really fresh to be in a town where the bicycle is truly the preferred way to scoot around town! Life is good! Ride on!


ps. there ain't no mo' to read!




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BBB Pub Crawl II: Repeal Day

Friday, December 5th marked the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the glorious 21st amendment to the US Constitution, and an end to 24 years of prohibition! And we celebrated! Many weeks ago our loyal reader(s) read Rich's original call to action! Well, we acted, and drank that action well!


I rode up to the rear of the spigot and found a dozen bikes locked and chained in all sorts of various configurations. Some looked familiar and i looked forward to seeing friends as well as finding out who the new bicycles belonged to. It was super wonderful to see a bunch of friends after being away for almost two months.


Rich gave a passionate sermon extolling the wonderful virtues of the 21st amendment. His hand gesturing was so full of energy his right arm is captured only as a blur, speedy beyond the realm of digital photography. We reveled, we gave thanks, we stayed late past the schedule and enjoyed the breaking of such earthly rules.


Mere glass cannot stop the energy flow of BBB dap, especially if involving Rich and a liter of beer and el Presidente de China. I believe I once got a text from Lucas proclaiming vegas as "the place where wasted happens!" Yep, pretty much. Two Fridays ago i stayed for two rounds of the special, a liter of any draft and any shot for $10. Dang. But as usual, a good time was had. More amazing photos after the jump including Joel working the stripper pole at Mad Dawg's!




Is Rick doing an anti-flat ritual of some kind as Rich double fists multiple liters of beer and Julia laughs nervously and protects her pizza.


el Prez pimpin' on my old Mercier. Well done!


As promised, Joel working it for Kristen and looking quite sexy!


A few went to Sully's, the most at the Spigot, half made it to Mad Dawgs and a few to the Red Rock. A great night and a hell of a way to return to Hartford! Read more!