Hola Muchachos Y Muchachas of the BVVW!
The BVVW group (a tangent of Gruppo Sportivo Pergolizzi) is comprised of a rag-tag gang of hardcore certified velo-freaks, who hangout (drink beer), talk bike stuff (eat Pizza) and ride together (drink coffee) every now and again.
Can you believe this weather! THE SEASON is upon us! We can reawaken after miserable months of dormancy! Hoo-ray Hoo-ray IT"S SPRING. I hope y'all have been toiling away, finishing up those winter projects and are now ready to put the winter behind us, lube the chains, dig out the wool, hit the road and stretch those legs!
Of course, in addition to gettin' out and riding, THE SEASON also means swaps, rides, gatherings, special events and various other ways to celebrate all that is part of NYC's vibrant and ever-growing bicycle culture.
Get out your pens and your calendars! Below is a list of local BVVW sanctioned events that will be happening in addition to our regularly scheduled programming. Hope to see youse guys and gals there!
- THURSDAY, APRIL 8: "STRONG BACKS, WEAK MINDS: REMEMBERING THE CONEY ISLAND VELODROME"
Our own Harry Schwartzman (of Bike Jumble fame), with lots of support from our BVVW brethren and CR community, has curated an exhibition at The Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn which celebrates the Coney Island Velodrome and Brooklyn's rich history of track racing. Our club is named after this stuff, so we'd BETTER be there at the 7PM opening on Thursday, right??? The exhibit features bikes that were raced on the track, as well as photos, programs, tickets and other ephemera, including a special \u2018Stayer\u2019 bike for motor-paced racing and New York-built track bikes from long-forgotten builders.
More info here:
http://nybikejumble.com/
- SUNDAY, APRIL 11: "THE BROOKLYN COBBLES RIDE"
In commiseration and celebration of The Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix, our own Scott Gordon has been resurrecting the BK Pave Ride, a roughly 30 mile ride through Brooklyn which covers nearly 5 miles of Cobblestone streets in Brooklyn.
Waiting on details regarding our actual start/stop time and location, but the ride is based on the route below:
http://www.demel.net/
- FRIDAY, APRIL 16: COPAKE BICYCLE SWAP
It's always a lovely day and a great chance to BS with local vintage bike enthusiasts. Please bring me a pair of Campy Con Denti track pedals for my Frejus.
http://www.copakeauction.com/
- SATURDAY, MAY 8: TREXLERTOWN VELODROME SWAP
In case you couldn't deliver my pedals at Copake, you can deliver them to me here.
http://www.thevelodrome.com/
- MAY 11-MID AUGUST: "BESPOKE: THE HANDBUILT BICYCLE"
There will be an exhibition about the handbuilt bicycle at Manhattan's Museum of Art Design on Columbus Circle.
I haven't heard if there will be a public opening for this event, but show details can be found here:
http://www.madmuseum.org/
- SATURDAY, MAY 15: COAST TO COAST RIDE/DEMO
Times Up will be hosting a ride to the shop shared by "Keeper of the Flame" builder and BVVW member Johnny Coast (http://www.johnnycoast.com/) and Seth Rosko. It' will be equal parts shop open house, framebuilding demo and block party. You are welcome to skip the ride and head straight into the depths of beautiful Bushwick Brooklyn for some bbq, live DJ and bike geekery.
A bit more info here:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/
- SUNDAY, MAY 16: BROOKLYN BIKE JUMBLE
I'm sure most of you either remember or heard about how great last year's event (organized by our own Harry Schwartzman) was. This one's gonna be even bigger. We finally have a great swap on the calendar in NYC! Contact Harry if you have stuff to sell or come by to stock up on cycling wares. This year's event falls on the same day as The Fifth Avenue Street Fair, so there will be plenty of food options and things for friends/spouses who aren't as bike obsessed to check out as well. That is, assuming you have a friend or spouse who isn't head-over-heels into bikes...which would be weird.
Phew! On top of all of that, The Omnipotent Despot himself will find himself in our fair city for much of the month of May, so expect to see more announcements of club rides and meetings in the coming weeks. Stay Tuned!
Matthew Bowne
Brooklyn, New York
L'Assistente al Despota Onnipotente
Devotion_Finesse@hotmail.com
(347) 414-0067