4th Build Check

A few months ago I posted a photo on here of the Cinelli 'Vigorelli' frame-set and how I was considering buying it. Well, after selling off various bike parts & frames, I managed to finally get my hands on one that fits just right. It's got a great, responsive ride with a rigid geometry. Nothing beats a Cinelli.

Here are the specs;

Frame & Fork: 2009 Cinelli 'Vigorelli' 52cm w/Columbus carbon forks
Handlebars: Deda 'Elementi Pista' 42cm
Stem: Thomson X-4 31.8-110-10 degree
Bottom Bracket: Miche 'English' (sealed)
Crankset: Sugino 'Messenger' 44t
Chain: Izumi 1/8
Rear Cog: Shimano/Dura-Ace 14t
Lock Ring: Phil Wood
Pedals: Look 'Carbon' Clipless
Seat: Selle San Marco 'Zoncolan'
Seatpost: Thomson 'Elite' 31.6
Front Wheel: Mavic 'Ellipse' clincher 700c
Front Tire: Continental 'Ultra Sport' 23"
Front Hub: Mavic LF 20H
Rear Wheel: Velocity 'Deep-V' 700c
Rear Tire: Vittoria 'Randonnuer' 28"
Rear Hub: Phil Wood HF 32H

G-Shock

This is a great ad for the timepiece we all know and love, the Casio G-Shock, which is known to take a serious beating even from a tried and true NYC bike messenger like "Krillz". He's got a great blog that you should definitely check out too!

Marco Island June 2010

The Southwest Florida-Gulf Coast area is such a beautiful place and last week I had a great time taking in what is about to be destroyed by corporate greed. For some reason, the days were sunnier, the water was cleaner, and the weather was almost perfect! It's like the calm before the storm that is BP. Anyhow, check out some of our photos wifey and I took last week. Below you'll see a few pics from Marco Island, Goodland and the Everglades National Park, as well as the nations smallest post office. Now I'm sure you all know by now, I don't like posting photos of myself on-line so just quit yer bitchin' and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Click on each image for hi-res.

Line Of Sight

During the Bicycle Film Festival here in Miami last December, I had the privilege to meet cyclist/filmaker Lucas Brunelle. He was down here for the festival as well as filming of his new DVD titled "Line Of Sight", which just debuted at the Bicycle Film Festival in NYC last week. The film is about alleycat races and just plain cycling-craziness! Filmed throughout the streets of New York, Miami, Tokyo, San Francisco, Mexico plus several other cities, Lucas captures everything from a riders perspective with his double helmet cams. He's a seriously fast cyclist and can find an opening in just about any crevice, which allows him to keep up and film the fastest street riders known to man.

Check out the trailer for "Line of Sight" which is soon to be released on DVD. Peep his website for more details and where to purchase.

Archival Thursdays: UNKLE - Psyence Fiction (1998)

Whew, I'm back from my nice, but brief hiatus. It was wonderful getting the fuck outta dodge and hitting the road. It was a great time (will post a few pics soon). Anyway, putting things back into grind mode, I bring you the continuation of my Archival Thursdays series and I'm igniting the flame with some proper DJ Shadow and James Lavelle aka UNKLE. 'Psyence Fiction' is by far my favorite release from UNKLE and is definitely one of my favorite albums of all time. Many of music's finest talents appear on this album, making it so eclectic that there's something for everyone. Names like Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Mike D. from the Beastie Boys, Richard Ashcroft from The Verve, Ian Brown from The Stone Roses as well as Badly Drawn Boy, Kool G. Rap and the lovely Alice Temple are sure to grab your attention.

Released on the fine Mo'Wax label, there are four different versions of this album, which I own all of, including the highly coveted promo box set 'The Psyence Fiction Survival Kit'. Yes I know it's a bit extreme but each version has slightly different Futura artwork and packaging and like I mentioned, its one of my favorite releases of all time. This particular copy I obtained from eBay and is the UK press limited edition hardcover gate-fold sleeve with booklet and picture inserts (see more photos).

Miamigraffiti.com Mix

It's been a long while since I last posted a mix on here therefore, just in time for the weekend I present you all my 'Miamigraffiti.com Mix'. Here is a mix that was created for my good friends' website, miamigraffiti.com and was released as a double disc/2-CD featuring four unique mixes, each one mixed by good fella's Gabe, James, Nick, plus myself, also known as "The Legendary Sypho-Mercenaries" (don't ask what it means). It's a concoction of chill instrumentals, with notions of downtempo and IDM caught in between. It was created during the winter of 2006 and was sent out to only a select few people and friends within our circle.

I uploaded my segment of the CD which clocks in just under 40 minutes. It contains many releases from the great Merck label, plus several other rarities from beat masters such as DJ Shadow, Eliot Lipp, Dabrye, Lootpack, Nautilis, Push Button Objects, Climber, 40 Winks and a few others you'll know and love.

Download it here.

*EDIT: Due to popular demand, I have re-uploaded my Portishead Remixes & B-Sides mix. Also, this will be my last post for about a week as some much needed R&R is well overdue. I'll be far, far away from cell phones, computers and city life. Till then, stay thirsty my friends!

Archival Thursdays: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)

'The Queen Is Dead' is by far the greatest Smiths album produced, and that's saying a lot considering their extensive discography. It's just such a perfect album from start to finish. Songs like "Big mouth strikes again" and "A light that never goes out" never seem to grow old. And with tracks such as the album title track, "The queen is dead" along with "The boy with the thorn in his side" all flow perfectly together to complete this lovely release. Classic Smiths!

This copy I found about 10 years ago at this record store near NYU called Second Coming Records. Earlier this year, Rhino repressed a few LP's from The Smiths back catalog and this release being one of them so a second pressing shouldn't be too tough to come across.

1986 NYC Messenger Article

The bicycle messenger is a dying breed. Well, not necessarily but it's surely nothing like it used to be. During a time when there was no internet, fax machines or cell phones, the bike messenger reigned supreme. There was no speedier way to get something delivered. The messenger business was huge back in that time, with thousands of riders each day delivering millions of packages and hundreds of messenger companies dispatching calls all day throughout the city. But with all the technology invented since those days, there is no need for messengers anymore however, some companies still use them as there are always going to be tangible items that can't be faxed, scanned or emailed. Today, there are barely fifty messenger companies in the big apple, with very few riders, but they're still out there!

Check out these high quality scans from a 1986 edition of New York Magazine regarding NYC bike messengers. Crazy how they literally used to own the streets. Click on each page for a high resolution scan.







Scans courtesy of Sasha E.

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

The long, treacherous Miami summer has arrived and this past weekend here in the sunshine state temps reached record highs as the heat was in full force. Thankfully I packed a lot of water and Clif bars for my morning bike ride to Key Biscayne this past Saturday. At one point in the early afternoon, it started to get windy and dark clouds started to roll in fast, just like a typical summer day in Miami. Luckily my homie Alex and I hauled ass back home and made it right before the storm rolled in. It was quite an amazing site to see a perfect day just deteriorate so quickly, but that's summertime in the tropics!

I snapped this photo from my balcony once I got back...boy was I glad to be home!

Are You Ready NYC?

For more info click here.

Archival Thursdays: Akufen - My Way (2002)

Montreal Canada's Marc Leclair aka Akufen has only been producing techno just over 10 years, but listening to his music would make you think otherwise. His productions are precise, clean and sharp as a razor, enough to keep up with techno veterans Juan Atkins or Richie Hawtin. He is known for his chopped-up minimal techno sound, which is the reason I love this particular album.

Released on the great Force Inc label, 'My Way' introduced his concept of "microsampling", which was essentially a way of using extremely small and short clips of samples he had randomly recorded off FM radio broadcasts as a key musical element. Supposedly the album contains over 2,000 samples of radio feed in it. Genius!

This copy I ordered from Forced Exposure when it was released back in 2002 and they completely sold out in a week. It's definitely one of my top 5 favorite techno albums of all time. Oh yea, be sure to check out tracks "Skidoos" and "Wet Floors"...you'll be blown away.

Alife X IRAK

Alife has always pushed the envelope when it comes to the NYC lifestyle. Their store on Rivington Street located in the LES is the central hub of street culture. Whether it's throwing parties with Slick Rick or Cypress Hill, dropping their latest collaboration, or simply just hosting a bbq cook out, there is always something brewing at Alife.

This month, Alife has collaborated with one of their own, Kunle aka Earsnot from NYC's IRAK crew, to bring us a sick collabo featuring three t-shirts, each packaged with a stress cube, key ring and a 'zine produced by IRAK featuring Dash Snow, Semen Sperms, Earsnot and photos that span over six long years of killing shit in New York. My personal favorite from the three shirts is the Wonka tee. Wonka is the current face of the NYC fixed scene and is known for his sick style of riding techniques and that photo of him tearing it down in Thompkins Square park really makes a great shirt in my opinion.

They are being released at US and Canada stores on June 6, 2010. Europe and the online shop will drop on June 13, 2010. Check em' out below.