Gambrill Night Mountain Bike Rides Return

We are once again ready to start the off-season fun! Our Gambrill State Park night rides commence on November 18th and continue on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. The rides will continue through the off-season.

Click here for the skinny...

New IF Lightweight

We just finished a new stock build. It is a super rad Independent Fabrication Factory Lightweight built up with a Shimano Ultegra kit. The bike tips the scale at 17.15lbs and has the classic steel ride that anyone can enjoy. More pictures here.

www.thebicycleescape.com

New Blue

New Blue
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

Thanks to all who helped make yesterdays trail work day a huge success. For those of you who do not know a section of the blue trail in the Frederick Watershed was closed and replaced with a more fun and sustainable section of trail.

Watershed Trail Work

Water Shed Trail Work
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

There is an important trail work day THIS Sunday. If you ride, run, hike, or gallop in the Frederick Water Shed please help the trails you love. Meet at the Sandflats parking area at 9:00am sharp. I will bring coffee and donuts to further entice you. Hope to see you there.

Power Tap

The Bicycle Escape is now Maryland's source for training with power. You can rent a Power Tap hub and see what all the excitement is about.

$35 gets you the wheel for a week. Buy a Power Tap and you get that money back. www.thebicycleescape.com

Become a fan of TBE at: www.facebook.com/TheBicycleEscape

Best Fall Ride

Best Fall Ride
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

It seems everyone was anxious to hit the trails following the week of rain that just passed. I had a great time on two wheels and I hope you did the same. After the ride I a grabbed some Indian food at the Clay Oven. A nice way to end a great ride.

Bike Art

1024091809.jpg
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

The Bike Project was a real great show. This work was done by Sara Michener.

Thanks to the organizer, Becky Bafford, and all the great artists who participated.

Cycle Chime

Cycle Chime
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

I made this wind chime today. And YES it was a slow day :)

The Bike Project

Bikes and Art at Howard Community College
The Bike Project: A Visual, Literary and Cinematic Celebration of Biking in Our World,
October 8-November 15. Reception October 24, 5-7pm.

(Columbia, MD) – Howard Community College features “The Bike Project: A Visual, Literary and Cinematic Celebration of Biking in Our World.” The project includes multimedia exhibitions and a film festival. A reception to will be held on October 24, 5-7pm at The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery in the Horowitz Center for Visual and Performing Arts. The exhibition, reception, and film festival are free and open to the public.

The Bike Project: A Literary Exploration explores biking through writing. Bikers often share the joys and challenges that they experience from the physical, social and emotional aspects of biking through writing, in blogs, sports publications and online forums. Based on the NPR writing project titled, “This I Believe...”, bikers were asked to respond, in writing, to the theme, “I bike because…” Over 50 riders, most of those whom are not writers, responded. Their candid, insightful and creative responses express a well rounded and poignant picture of the power of biking in their lives, and those around them. Copies of their writings are available at the galleries.

The Bike Project: An Exhibition is invitational exhibition held in The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery. While the literary component of The Bike Project focused on bikers, who are not necessarily artists or writers, the exhibition does the opposite. Established artists—painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramic artists, printmakers, etc—who are not necessarily avid cyclists(though some are), were asked to create bike related artwork. An exciting number of artists (46) took on the challenge. The resulting artwork will be displayed in the galleries from October 8-November 15, 2009.

The Bike Project: Did You Get That??? Great Moments On(and Off) the Bike, Photos by Bikers is an open
exhibition where bikers were asked to submit up to three photos of their choosing that depict their biking experiences. It will be shown in the Art Department Gallery October 8 – November 15, 2009.

The Bike Project – A Film Festival, runs October 19-23, in the Monteabaro Hall of the Horowitz Center for Visual and Performing Arts.
Monday, October 19, 7pm, features two films: “Off Road to Athens” captures the personal struggles and sacrifices of 8 cyclists trying to make the U.S. Olympic team, and “24 Solo” follows Howard County resident and 24 Hour Solo World Champion Chris Eatough on his quest to a seventh consecutive title.
Wednesday, October 21, 7pm, features three films-“The Collective,” “Roam,” and “Seasons”- that portray the newest and cutting edge images of the freeride progression while exploring thoughts and personalities of the riders leading to the progression, as well as following seven of the world’s best mountain bikers through the course of 4 seasons of one year.
Thursday, October 22, 7pm, features "Adventures for the Cure". "The Doc" chronicles the incredible, 6,500 mile trek made by 3 young men across the United States on single-speed, fixed gear bicycles in order to raise money and awareness for diabetes, and to help disabled children in Kenya. In particular, it focuses on one of the riders, Adam, who as a Type-1 diabetic has to manage his illness while riding up to 150 miles a day through rugged terrain, and on the touching stories of two diabetic children the group meets along the way. The film is narrated by three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond."
Friday, October 23, 7pm, features “Klunkerz,” a thoughtful and accurate portrayal of the cycling enthusiasts of Northern California’s Marin County where mountain biking originated among a diverse group of cyclist racers and fun-loving hippies looking for a way to commune with nature. Their original hefty steeds were affectionately knows as Klunkerz.

Exhibit viewing hours are Monday - Friday,10 a.m. -8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery is located in the Horowitz Arts Center on the Howard Community College campus at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044. For more information about the exhibition and gallery programs, visit www.howardcc.edu or email RBafford@howardcc.edu.

Media Contacts: Jane Sharp, HCC Public Relations & Marketing, 410-772-4794, jsharp@howardcc.edu
Rebecca Bafford, HCC Gallery Director, 410-772-4189, rbafford@howardcc.edu

J.C. Higgins Re-Birth

A few months ago a woman named Ann stopped by The Bicycle Escape with a very rusty bicycle and a story. The story goes that she grew up with little material wealth. The one treasure from her childhood was the pictured secondhand bicycle. It is a 1940s Sears J.C. Higgins cruiser. Ann’s goal with the restoration was to recapture a slice of her childhood and to proudly display this vintage machine in her home.

As the pictures suggest this was a daunting task. The bike was badly weathered. Rust and caked grease were everywhere. Parts were bent, cracked, and missing. Keeping the bike totally original was not a concern but maintaining a nostalgic look was important. With that in mind, we replaced the crank front wheel, seat, bar and stem, and of course the tires and tubes. The rear wheel was rebuilt using the original hub. This way we could retain the original character–adding skip-link chain and rings. The Chainring was brought back to life with help from Frederick's Brass and Copper Shop. Due to the extreme damage to the chain guard we had Paul of Brass Knuckle Kustom Work repair and reshape the guard.

While Paul hammered away, we stripped the rest of the bike and cleaned, degreased, and degreased, and degreased… The seat post is much thinner than modern styles so we machined an adapter to make the new saddle fit just right. We created new rack struts using fender hardware, cut the stem shaft down for a better fit, and did all sorts of other things that I have forgotten.

The frame came out of finishing looking bright and shiny. For this project we used Chris of Toxic Art who applied a combination of powder coat and wet paint. The reassemble of the bike went smother than anticipated and the finished product is even more amazing that we imagined.

Finally, the bike is ready for a warm and joyful homecoming. Thank you Ann for the challenge and thrill of another Bicycle Escape restoration project!

The Bicycle Escape, Frederick Maryland

SwissStop Brake Pads

SwissStop brakes have landed in Frederick, Maryland! TBE is now the home of the finest brake pads in the business. SwissStop brake pads have been held in such high regard we could not go another second without them. They are available in compounds suited for carbon fiber rims, disc brakes and good-old-fashioned alloy hoops. www.thebicycleescape.com

YiPsan Modifications

Lately I have made quite a few modifications to my YiPsan mountain bike. On the list was an XTR crank, a new bash guard, Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex tubless gunk, and a Shimano SLX double specific front dérailleur. This post is regarding the latter.

It is no secret that a bash guard is quite nice for East Coast mountain biking. The SLX dérailleur helps two-ring riders further exploit the benefits of ditching the big ring. This modification dramatically increases your tire/front dérailleur clearance. On my YiPsan the cage of the dérailleur is completely out of the way. The tire would hit the stay before the shifting component. This is a real benefit for those of us who like fat tires. If you are a bash guard user you should consider this alteration. If you are considering running a guard you can learn more about them here. Cheers!

1976 Raleigh Tourist DL1

I have always wanted a rod-brake bicycle and last weekend I achieved that goal. I am now the proud owner of a 1976 Raleigh Tourist DL1. The bike is in near mint condition and rides great. The neat and funny thing about this bike is that the technology is curiously retro for 1976. The bike could have easily been made decades earlier. I guess the folks in Nottingham England were feeling nostalgic when they built this bike. The bike will be at the shop for a while so stop on by and check it out. www.thebicycleescape.com

2010 Giant Bowery Mash Up

Here is Giant's fun and funky new fixed gear, the Bowery Mash Up. All decked-out in retro colors and able to be set up fixed or free. Love it or hate it, it is most definitely funky. More pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebicycleescape/

Crown Jewel

The latest build here at old TBE was this Independent Fabrication Crown Jewel (of the steel persuasion) for Dennis. The frame is built with Dura-Ace 7800 bits and a Chris King headset. The elegant down tube decal is the script style. It is newer to the IF decal options.

Cross Season???

This time of year is always bitter sweet. It is 100 degrees outside right now with 200% humidity and all I see promoted by my vendors is cross bikes and fall clothing. I guess I have to accept the fact that summer is winding down. I love fall but hate to see the sunshine fade away.

The pictured bike is Ken's 2010 Redline Conquest Team. The bike comes stock with tubeless tires and weighs 17.8lbs. Not to shabby.

Titus FCR

In celebration of being nominated the mid-Atlantic's laziest blogger I decided to make a quick post. The custom bike pictured here was built for Candice. It is a Titanium Titus FCR built with Ultegra SL and SRAM Force crank and brakes. The Edge fork and Rolf wheels keep the bike just under 17 lbs. Congratulations Candice! www.thebicycleescape.com

Specialized 2010 29er Single Speed and Epic

Here is a sneak peak of some of the 2010 higher end Specialized 29ers. The carbon bike on the left has suspiciously horizontal dropouts and is not well hung in the derailleur hanger department. This carbon fiber single speed 29er should build a super light SS! For the full squish racers out there Specialized has the Epic 29er.

Where Is Tom ?

Where Is Tom ?
Originally uploaded by thebicycleescape

In an out of character move Tom did not show up to work today. I know what you are thinking: Reno 911 Marathon... nope. This absence is due to the newest TBE addition: Geoffrey Galen Rinker, 8lbs 11oz. Welcome son!

Starry Night

We just built this beautiful Independent Fabrication Factory Light Weight for Alan. I love the sky like fade complete with the moon and stars. Check out our photo album for more pictures.