Mash Transit

I grew up in the Bay Area so I have a bit of familiarity with Mash Transit, a group of cyclists in San Francisco that ride fixed and cross bicycles. I know them as the cyclists with mad skills for bombing the San Francisco hills. They regularly go on rides and welcome any cyclists who care to join them. They host cycling events, tour, and produce short films featuring their rides/riders. They produced a DVD that I have yet to purchase and watch that is self-titled. It's on my mental list of things to purchase this month. It comes with the 1 hour feature film, 1 hour of bonus features, and it also comes in a 120 page book that features the production of the film. It's definitely worth having.

These are such sweet builds. I love how they all have so much personality you can practically see the riding they've been through. In fact, I asked Mash if any of these were still in use, and apparently only the Ciocc and maybe the black Samson are being used. "Many broken bikes!!"
Figures though, right? They ride hard.
Check them out for yourself here or visit their shop in San Francisco at 773 14th Street.

Photo Credit: Garrett Chow

- RideaBicycle

Benson's Bicycle

My bud Benson Lam and I have been great friends and neighbors since I can't remember when and we've been riding together for about 4 years.
Before I moved up to Washington, we'd go on fun day rides together, and on clear nights we'd go out late and ride the empty streets. On nights after a day or two of rain, the pavement would glisten as we mashed, skidding as much as we could only in puddles was a frequented game (assuming it wore less of our tread). Benson prefers night rides so I was pushed into a zone that I then became comfortable with, and now enjoy very much.

Frame: Bianchi Fremont
Fork: Bianchi Carbon Fiber
Rims: Velocity Deep-V white (front), Weinmann dp18 650 white (rear)
Hubs: Formula black 36H (front), Formula black 32H (rear)
Spokes: black (front), black (rear)
Cog: 17T
Tires: Armadillo
Saddle: Bianchi Leopard
Seatpost: Bianchi
Headset: Bianchi
Stem: Bianchi
Handlebars: Easton EA50 Risers chopped
Grips: Oury black
Bottom Bracket: Bianchi
Cranks: Pake 165mm black
Chainring: Sugino Messenger 48T
Pedals: MKS Sylvan Stream
Toecages: MKS Silver L
Straps: Missing Link Nylon
Chain: Unknown

How’s life treatin’ you?
Life is good and calm.

How long have you been riding?

I've been riding for about 4 years now.

What makes you want to ride your bicycle?

I love riding when the weather is nice. No wind!

Do you have a favourite route when you ride? Anywhere you especially enjoy?

My favorite place to ride is a car garage in Berkeley. It's completely empty at night and there's an elevator at the bottom that takes you to the top after you ride down. My favorite times to ride are at night and after it stops raining.

What do you fancy besides bicycles?

making beats, drawing drawings, rock climbing.

If you had to pick one place on earth, where would you ride?

On a carless autobahn.

What’s your favourite part on your bicycle?

The leopard print strip on my saddle, oddly it's a stock part.

We all know helmets save lives, do you wear one?

I should.

What's next for you? Got any plans?

Hoping to get into design school in Pasadena and I have plans to get drop bars for my bike!

And do you have any words for the bicycle riders of tomorrow?

Reflectors are actually very helpful for cars to see you at night. Keep riding and push yourself.

We'll definitely ride in August and sweet that you have 2 bikes, that's something to look forward to.

Thanks Bens! You gotta show me that garage in Berkeley - sounds sweet. I'm looking forward to the trip and going on some rides.

Photo Credit: Benson Lam, Bill Dane

- RideaBicycle

The Keirin

The Keirin is a track cycling race where the competitors race to the finish in a 2 Kilometers sprint.
The Keirin race started back in 1948 but today it's regulated by the JKA foundation and is part of the Olympics.

There is a Keirin School, that looks super intensive, where cyclists go to train for this race. They train for more than three hours every day on top of other studies. It sounds kind of fun to me, but I'm sure that it's such a challenge.

Check out the book Fixed: Fixed-Gear Bike Culture by Andrew Edwards and Max Leonard. It's a great book if you're interested in a bit of history behind the fixed gear bicycle. I picked mine up here.
You can also read about the book on this website. 

Photo Credit: altalang.com

- RideaBicycle