bareknucklebrigade

Canti-cult.

The pull began early this August when I stepped out one cool morning and caught the slight astringent tang of organic death in the air. Yes! All summer we pedaled through WORS, 24-9, Cheq40, O2S, various alley cats and lunch time speed trials with a faint murmur building in our ears as the months passed. There had been a high reached last November that had carried me, my friends, my team mates and those who were there at Angell Park through the winter, spring and summer up to this point. A clanging, pole barned echoing, beer soaked, conspiratory high. And now finally the time has come to experience that high again. The Wisco cross season has arrived! Throughout the first seven cross races so far this year, the spirit of Angell Park and last year's Wisco State Champs has been carried on. Some people tailgate, some people start cults. We put 'em together. The BKB was started with cross in mind and last year we were a tight knit little family that superfanned it's team mates and friends. Now it's grown into a multi-headed superfanning beast containing the crews of the BKB, Magnus, Planet Bike, Teams Pegasus and Polska from Milwaukee and some local BikeMad indies. So far cowbells, metal blaring boomboxes, whistles, yelling till your horse, skull bongs, beer hand ups and dollar grabs have been omnipresent.

Ah but lest you think it's all party, think again. As Jesse said last Sunday at the end of a hard fought Cat 1 race at Gibbs Park, "Cyclocross is hard." Lung and leg searing concentrated mofo hard! That coming from someone along with brother Marko and newly initiated CXer James L. makes it look easy. Along the other fronts Lyle has stepped up big time in Cat 3s while D*Pow, AOMIII, and myself have held it down in the 4s. True star quality has been embodied by our own Scotty Shapiro in the 2s. Who else can do the skull bong hand ups, the dollar grabs, blow the horn and still put in solid efforts? He even had a Scott Shapiro clone at the Washington Park Halloween race! The sincerest form of flattery? Oh yes!

So now a quick thumbnail:
Delafield day 1- 2 time trials. why again?
Delafield day 2- the hard initiation, the reminder that whatever discipline you practice riding, nothing will prepare you for cross.
CamRock- the fun filled screaming rollercoaster that never disappoints no matter what the weather.
Badger Prairie- Belgian Brown was the colour of the day. The perfect rain soaked and mud spattered day. The missing element added and all was fine.
Whitewater- the seven to fifteen circles of Hell plus one.
Gibbs Lake Park- the polar opposite to Whitewater. A hard packed single track Six Flags blitzkrieg with shotgun blasts going off in the neighboring farm fields. real ones, we are in Wisco after all.
Washington Park, Milwaukee- fast, furious, casket hoppin' Halloween race excitement! A triple Lalonde domination. Costumes, beer, bells.

Four more to go plus assorted ventures out of state for various BKB members. Come on out and PLAY dammit! This is what being alive is all about!!!
-djonnymac

WISCO/MN/OH X Weekend.

With what might as well have been the peak of the midwest cross season the BKB crew shined. Top honors in Wisco, a sighting in MN, and a tattooed ss'er turning heads in the Ohio UCI races left us proud.

Full report coming...

Recaptivated.

Most of us have put the mtb season sucessfully behind us. Others, well...

we're still ticking. Iceman is next up on the agenda for the ss bros. Cross is in full effect with races weekly. In fact, we started as a cross team. Funny how these things spread. The truth is we love you all even if we pretend not to. Hey, we have an image to uphold. We'd like to think we're doing some good in this world or at least provide a slice of pie to everyone. Tentatively were moving on to bigger and better things. We'd like everyone to get theirs and believe us when we say you'll know when.

In the mean time hold tight, jump some barriers, drink a beer, or do it fixt. The BKB is coming to a town near you!

The Cheq is cashed.

You can smell it in the air, feel it in your bones, hear it under your tyres. It's cross season. The fresh acidic taste in the back of your throat that won't go away even when chased with a warm pbr fresh out of Joe's mess bag. The truth is cross is here and that's what we've been up to but it's the turning point that matters. The mid weeks of September bring hundreds together for one hell of an event. For some we're "racing", others drinking, while some just come to hang out and witness the spectacle that takes the Northwoods by storm. Many BKBer's wheeled the line while others showed up in disguise. Our stories will never be adequate enough to bring you to the event so we left it up to our very own teammate and Kitten master...

Ah, Cheqwackmegone. Every year I claim I'll never do it again and every year I come back. Here's why all the pre-bullshit bullshit of the night before checking in and overhearing people brag about their upgrades (and you'll still suck!) or how "I been meaning to get on the bike this summer, but ya know...just too busy" Errrgh, shut up!!! If I could be dropped in right at the beginning of the race I'd be happy. But I always have this problem with any race. Oh well, they're riding and that's something at least. Friday night I have two lovely plates of pasta at Telemark and then repair back to my truck where I will spend the night with a sleeping bag, plenty of wool blankies and Anger the Rig. The temps drop to the upper 20s but I'm fairly comfy. At one point during the night I woke up facing Anger and half asleep I reached out and patted the rear wheel and said "good boy" like I would have one of my cats had I woken up at home. The boy and his best friend. At 4:30am I start to hear vehicles pulling out of Telemark to get positions for the start (and you'll still suck!). "Crazy fucks" I think and go back to sleep. Wake up at 6:30, shake off the frost and go to Hayward and get positioned mid pack which is fine, I mean yer gonna get there anyway and on an SS yer gonna get passed on the roll out anyway so why pretend? Race to ride, not ride to race. Remember that always. The cannon goes off and we go off and it is perfect! Rosie's field comes up faster than I ever remember and I'm spinning like crazy- thank you WORS series!. Now I remember why I come back to Cheq- it's a big freakin blast! Much love given to the BKB, the kit immediately starts conversations and the number of SS rigids makes me feel like family is always around. Was riding with a SSer, we speak of the Lalondes, I look at my watch- noon, "hmm wonder where they are now"- little did we know... Continue to feel great, even Firetower rips by. Head down a rocky descent a couple miles later head up the hill and feel the unmistakeble give of a rear tire losing pressure. Accept my fate that I caught a rock and flip the bike over for a tube change only to find someone's broken bib safety pin sticking out. Astronomical odds beaten, I chuckle and watch riders roll by. Fixed, I take off. 100 yards later rear tire goes flat again, flip the bike, I remove the 2nd piece of broken safety pin hiding in the tread! Sam saves my bacon by stopping and giving me another CO2. And this is the really cool part- with both flats so many people offered help, equipment, encouragement and so many strangers knew my name- "hey djonnymac need anything? you okay BKB? alright, catch up soon then!" such is the power of the BKB. Was only able to get the tire half inflated (in a hurry, wanting to go etc.) so wasn't able to go as fast as I wanted for fear of pinch flatting, but still letting it fly. But who cares about that?!!? Get to the finish grandpa! The finish I cross the line and see AOMIII and he says Jesse won! FUCK YEAH!!!! Marko came in 4th FUCK YEAH AGAIN!!! Maybe I overexagerate but it feels like everything that has come before has been wiped clean, everything has been thrown out the window. Suspension, geared components? Nice, but ya don't necessarily need 'em to win or to even do well (Anger also SS rigid). Should note that despite my double flat I finished only 4 minutes slower than last year so I was on a tear up till then. Anyway I go to the Trek tent, find my two younger brothers Jesse and Marko, congratulate them both and grin ear to ear till my mouth hurts and then grin some more. A can of blaze orange Miller High Life never tasted so fine. Almost a week later I still get goosebumps. Thanks to GF, the BKB family, Cheq40, Kris, Sam, Anger, my truck/hotel and el hefes Jesse y Marko.