dirt jumping with helicopter mounted camera

Dude mounted a 7D in video mode on a remote controlled helicopter; very excited at the possibilities here.

PB's Backyard from Trent Palmer on Vimeo.

it rained tonight

Riding home with two co-workers tonight, we found shelter under a bridge; five others were doing the same, though on the other side of the water. This was taken during a lull:
Rode home during an intermission in the rain, nearly died when six cars in a row decided to treat the blacked out stoplight as a sign to test the maximum speed capability of their vehicles. Go humans!

Once home I changed into a bit of dry clothing before it started coming down harder, this time with hail. My neighbor stopped by and asked me to come outside.
A lot of neighbors outside, many with their cars flooded and/or stalled. One neighbor asked me for assistance; her car was running and wouldn't turn off. I pulled the fuse on the fuel pump, which killed the engine, but the fan, wipers, and lights remained on. Disconnecting the battery did the trick. She immediately asked me if I thought it was okay to drive the same car to Stillwater tonight. No, probably not a good idea.
@MPLSchick has had a bad couple of days; she got doored last night by a douchebag prick-hole, resulting in major bruises and confusion, a 5+ hour stay at the ER, and a diagnosis of a concussion. Tonight her seldom used car got the flood job:
Trudged over to the clogged storm drain in water above knee level and cleared it with my hands; five or so minutes later the street was no longer flooded. God must surely be pissed. I think he's trying to tell you all to hit the GCFS show Saturday night at the Nomad. That or it's time to build an ark; let's leave the mosquitos out this time if that's the case. And the light beer.
MPR story here.

Uptown schmuptown

Anybody been to the newly re-branded Uptown MPLS lately? While it certainly has felt like 50th and France in the recent past, it sure as hell looks like it now. Here's a shot of the window display at Urban Outfitters showing a Steamroller with Thomson seatpost and wicked saddle; don't forget to check out that wacky rear brake cable routing. Why wouldn't they advertise their own shit I wonder?

[edit - Glen Senk, the CEO of Urban Outfitters, earned US$29,944,180 (That's nearly 30-Million) in 2009. Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Alexis Leondis. "How Much Is A CEO Worth?" Bloomberg Businessweek. May 10-16, 2010. 70-71.

The Thomson seatpost is fully justified.]

And flavour fans can now rejoice, Walgreens is now carrying this crap for only a buck a bottle. In their favour, there is a surprising lack of the HFCS, which of course is just fine in moderation, but then again so are a lot of things; oil spills for instance.

Decorah recap

Alas, the Dirt Burger cycling and camping gathering has come and gone. All that remains are hairy memories, a few unpaid citations, and nine photographs.

The 1975 Vanadu made an appearance.

Was trying to get the live band in this shot. Sort of got the fire, though.
This sign was a bit distasteful, but then I never was a big fan of the kid. Sign courtesy of @omgmrj.

There was a mean game of bucketball, which happened to decide the world champions, from which my right knee is still bruised and sore. The final score was something like awesome to less than awesome.

Linden showed off his newly finished customized Karate Monkey. Chops and braze-ons by Noren.

There was plenty of spills by most.

The riding was most excellent, despite the greasiness in some areas. Note that Decorah doesn't shut down the trails at the slightest bit of humidity; what an unusual trail philisophy: keep the trails open and people ride them.

The bakery on the main street was okay, but the co-op (not pictured) wins hands down for selection and prices. The Mag Pie coffee shop comes in at a close second.

Ogara made a nice profit from the can and bottle clean up: 5-cents per on deposit. The more you drink in Iowa, the more you make!

2011, you can't come soon enough.

dood, I got an idea, it's gonna be sweet

but is 72 spokes enough?

Seen on a recent Sunday afternoon:


The bike is made of two Schwinn cruiser frames, welded together. The seat is directly above the rear hub.

here's a neat idea, completely untested and not endorsed in any way

I'm trying to get a hold of one of these hubs for testing, am especially interested in how they work in the MPLS winters in comparison to the Shimano 8-speed Nexus, which freezes up in the cold and only works in one gear.

If you're at the Nature Valley races coming up, give one of these a test ride.

I was gonna do this but now it's already been done

Dirt Burger weekend - get out and enjoy the weather, damn it

Dirt Burger 2 is this weekend. Also up is the Fixed Gear Classic, which is good reason to stick around the cities for all yous not wanting to hoof it to Iowa.



Here's where to go if yer goin:

View Dirt Burger in a larger map

this ain't MPLS, it's BMX!

he walks away:

video here (@2:53) after the quick ad and a bunch of sweet BMX moves:

Double Ditch Jam - More BMX Videos

getting back to our roots

Memorial day weekend 2010 was spent mowing hay and clearing brush; feeling like I've got presidential abilities all of a sudden. Now it's time to play catch up with the folks in the MPLS.


photo by @mplschick