With a few spots of rain and wind still lingering we are finally out riding and playing with bikes. Before we get into that I wanted to mention we got the T-shirts in and have them ready to ship as well as Ridge/ER and FB/FB-10 derailleur hangers. Check out the updated merchandise page.

Matt and I took a little road ride Friday afternoon. It had been years since we had ridden together and it was a blast. I should have slipped out again Saturday but that plan was interrupted by a nap after lunch. I always get like that when the weather warms up. I want to sleep in the sun like an old dog.

I headed up to Barre VT for their annual Barre Grand Prix bicycle race. It’s a criterium type event that is a short course laid out in downtown areas. They are quite exciting races as the the laps are short and ridden at very high speeds. I thought about taking a few photos but it’s not at all easy to capture the action.
There were divisions for skill levels as well as gender and age. The event had a “home town” feel with the announcer mingling with the crowd.

I came to the event to help display old bikes and ride around the course on an antique bicycle and lead a kids parade. I like riding older bikes (I have some very old ones) and got to ride a nice Claude Butler from the late 50’s with Cyclo Benelux gears, an early derailleur system. The bike had terrific handling and was a pleasure to ride.

The racing competitive and I was pleased to hear the name of local businessman Chris Curven as a class winner.

Other cool news is the Bellows Falls bike project is having a benefit screening of the film ‘Breaking Away’ coming up in a few days. If you are considering coming to town you have to try Popolo’s resturant in town for dinner and Pleasent valley brewing for music and a crazy beer list. If you haven’t heard, the program is training people (kids of all ages as they say) to repair bicycles and work towards ownership. Their building is under construction and will be completed soon. Happy dayz.