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It's the middle of June, so that means it's about time for the monthly Keirin Cycles open sprints. The event takes place tomorrow night, June 11.
At last month's events, we had a debut local screening of Maca Frama, a documentary by a bunch of fixed-gear riders out in San Francisco. It was them doing tricks, and pushing the envelope as far as possibilities on a track bike. Tomorrow night, there will be another screening, this time of The Road to Roubaix, which is another documentary, this time about an intense one-day cycling race in France.
As for the open sprints, this is how it works. People compete with fixed-gear bikes on rollers, which are attachments on a bike's tires that basically turn it into a stationary bike. Two people compete against each other at a time, pedaling for a quarter-mile (a computer tracks that distance equivalent). Whoever pedals that distance the fastest, wins. Then there are heats to determine an overall winner for the event. The winner gets a bottle of sake and about $150, and the second-place finisher also gets a bottle of sake. (Everybody who participates puts in $5, and whoever wins gets the pot.)
These events are good, healthy competition, but it's not necessarily against the other people. I have the best time when I go because I really feel like I'm competing against myself, to improve my time, and then overall it's a good time among friends. It's cool to see different people in the bike community come out and show support.
About 30 people participated last time, and hopefully tomorrow night there will be more. Hopefully the event will get bigger and bigger and more people will want to get involved.
If you want to participate tomorrow, the sign-ups are between 8 and 8:15 at Keirin Cycles, which is at 235A 9th St., Miami Beach, next to M.I.A. Skate shop. Call 305-531-6684, or visit keirincycles.com.
Five Albums I'm Listening to this Week: 1) Thrice, Artist in the Ambulance. 2) Bane, It All Comes Down to This. 3) A Chorus of Disapproval, Firm-Standing Law. 4) Baroness, the Red Album. 5) Mike Ness, Cheating at Solitaire.
Quote of the Week: "Success is to be measured, not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles which he has overcome." -- Booker T. Washington
