ha! fixed gear alligator...ya this one is from Keiths woman Mindy...who also makes the cool valve caps...of note my super man S's (check my sig) and the jesus one! it was so damn intricate. I have 0 artistic talent. Home made cards of anytype own a store bought anyday!

I have a friend that's looking for a group of people interested in doing spin classes in order to get a lower group rate. It would be on Monday nights. I won't be going, but he axed me to put the word out in case anyone I know is interested. PM me if you want more details.

Hi all - not much of a poster here but just wanted to make sure you guys knew that the Bicycle Film Festival is accepting submissions for bicycle films for the 2008 festival. We're looking for shorts, longs and short-longs! Most of all, though, we want homegrown films!! All you guys and gals that got helmet-cams for Christmas should start filming!!

The submission deadline is February 19, 2008. https://bicyclefilmfestival.com/ has the submission form.

Also, the deadline could be later for the Toronto festival specifically, just get in touch if you got something that isn't ready by that time electronsean@gmail.com or benny@bicyclefilmfestival.com (though he's leaving for a cross-Africa cycle soon!)

AND: If anyone wants to help out in any capacity, send me a note.

Whatup Sean!? Let me tell you folks something; this guy knows how to go to the cottage, man.

Backpack question: In April some friends and I are heading across the pond for a little R & R... Rockin' & Rollin' that is! Now, we're not "touring" in a traditional sense - most of the long distance traveling will be done via train but we will be booting around every city we're in and there will be times, I'm sure, when we'll ride from town to town so I'm going to need a big bag that I can haul all my stuff in but it's got to be pretty comfy while riding. I've looked at all the big travelling backpacks at MEC and Europe Bound and such and they seem great but they are too tall to use while riding... Anyone got any suggestions?

I've been eyeing the Chrome Sultan and it's currently in the lead but I thought I'd see if anyone had any other ideas...

Cafe 668 on Dundas nearish to Ossington is good.

I also second Nazaret. If you like it, try M&B Yummycakes at Queen W & Dufferin.

I need to try 668 again - I was a loyal Buddha's guy so when they opened up next door I ate there once reluctantly and didn't think much of it... but lately everyone has been saying that it's great so I really should check it out.

Bo De Duyen was my #1 jam but David closed up shop a few months ago to move out to Dundas / Sorauren and hasn't reopened just yet... hopefully he will soon because I don't want to see that place go... although the new location sucks balls.

Vegetarian Haven (Dundas & McCaul area) is ok as well, most of the food is good but could use a little additional seasoning - the deserts are the real saving grace.

The thing I liked about M&B Yummycakes is that you can get mock-meat options which is rare for an Ethiopian joint - with that said, I didn't think the Injera was very good / fresh so I'd hit Queen of Sheeba or 1st Ethiopian House any day over M&B. Haven't been to Nazaret - I'll have to check it out.

Fresh is ok, the shakes tend to be pretty good and there are one or two good dishes but mostly I tend to leave Fresh feeling a little underwhelmed.

Fressen was better before they switched to their "Sharing Menu" and you don't get much for the amount of money you spend - not to mention the time you wait. With that said, their sweet potato soup is unbeatable!!! With that said, you can also get their soup at...

Urban Herbivore in the Market (Augusta, just south of College) which is owned by Steve from Fressen but pretty much just serves sandwiches and soup - both of which are pretty good. I recommend the Chimmichurri Gluten sammy and a bowl of sweet potato soup...

It's funny - I've been vegan for about 13 years and have no intentions of changing but I find most vegetarian restaurants in the city a little underwhelming. Lately I've found the veggie options at regular restaurants (especially when it comes to faster food) to be better...

Yam Burrito @ Big Fat Burrito in the market is amazing...

Crispy Veggie Chicken Burrito @ Utopia is amazing as well... the gravy there is veggie friendly as well... used to be vegan (and amazing) but no longer. Booooooo!

Spinach Potato Roti @ Gandhi's is unreal!!!

Mattttt...

I agree: THE BO! I miss it down there. Dundas/Sororen isn't so bad - I thought he was moving to the junction. I personally dont like the new 668 that much. More expensive and the food isn't any better. Maybe the shiny digs make me think so.

Where you going across the pond? Did you know Heather is living in London? Im sure she'd love to see you if you're there!

Matt: love the yam burrito at BFB. I'm also a long-time Utopia fan. You can get any of their burgers/burritos made with veggie substitutes, which is pretty awesome... plus their fries are awesome (as are their nachos, but not very vegan ). Definitely agree with you about Fressen.. also Vegetarian Haven. My gf loves that place but I can't stand it. I've given it "one more try" about 4-5 times but always leave thinking it was the most bland meal ever. I like Urban Herbivore, but it's pretty damn expensive for a sandwich shop. I'd rather build something at the Sandwich Box!

Also, I don't think any hiking backpack is going to be even remotely comfortable on a bike. The ideal weight distribution for standing up going to have things up way to high to be comfortable on a bike, and the 'back curve' will be all wrong. You probably don't want to hear this, but have you thought about racks of any sort? Your Jamie Roy has the bosses for one, right? Depends on how lightweight you wanna go though, but I can't imagine riding for too long with much weight in a bag. Especially not on a fixie.

So, did any of you "recently completed track 1" folks get in touch with ForestCity about scheduling Track 2 and/or 3? You should really get on that because they ONLY schedule it when they have enough interest to fill a session. I'm hoping to get out there again ASAP, and I'd be more than happy to ferry people out and back (or to chip in for gas money and not have to drive!).

ps. stupid last.fm client hasn't been picking up my ipod history lately. grr. I listened to something like 500 tracks during my trip to Quebec (16+ hours of driving!), and it never 'saw' a single one of them. blargh.

Supposed to be 8C on Sun. I'm in for some longish road rides. How about teh donut?

hey operator, does urbane carry anything like this? sorry for trolling, i got a lot of bike shopping to do and i haven't been downtown in a while.

Ahhahahahahahhahahahahahah

Edit: Oh, uh no hehe. Shimanos smallest cartridge bb is 107mm. They used to have a 103 but is not produced anymore. Chucksbikes has a fsa ultimax in 103 on their site still. You might want to call around some shops but it's not in any of the regular catalogs (103 cart bb's). Maybe some of the other shop guys here have some leads. If you're not going to go local you can find 103 bb's on ebay and other webstores.

Campy makes a 102 but that's ISO not JIS.

I am pondering a stop in London this weekend as I have to go to Cambridge anyway. My 13yr old nephew is playing a gig at a pub in Stratford and I absolutely have to go. He is playing again on the 29th at the Horseshoe...budding rock star.

If anyone has a hankering for a cycling vacation in 2008, Nadir has just announced the dates for the Grand Premio de Guatemala. This is a 10 day stage race/party around Lake Atitlan and is a fantastic time. There is a hill climb stage...a volcano downhill...and several road race stages. Most of the out of towners just go for fun but there are always quite a few Guatemalan pros that show up. This event is bi-annual and this year falls on Sept 10-21. I had committed to doing tech support for Crank the Shield but am cancelling that to go south. The sweetest thing about this race is the value. You get transportation in Guatemala...accommodation...all your food (Nadir flies in a chef and all diets are taken care of) and race fees for $500CAD for 10 days. Nadir always rents a huge house in Panajahel for a week after so you can always stick around after the race for some extra chillin. If you can afford it and get the time off, go for this event...you will not regret it.

Hey T.J....did ya get the band for yer rollers yet? I was thinkin since I live, ohhhhhh, 50 seconds from you, we could get together and do some roller racing. Let me know.

I'm not familiar with this ride, but I just cleaned my balls, so the wheels on my steelie should be up for any distance

Edit: there's a wikipedia article on the donut routes. I'm good for an easy 100k.

Cool thanks man. I found a few on ebay but id rather shop local and avoid shipping and customs headaches.

keith: wow. that sounds awesome! also, when are we gonna get our funk on? are the drums ready to rip?

rob: if Mike bails on our cx ride, I'm into doing the donut.

gas.face: not sure if you're gonna find one of those locally. I picked up my sugino75 bb from business-cycles *thumbsup*

IRO sells one (check their site) as does IRD, distributed in Canada by ACS. They all run about $30.00 ... and QBP might stock that Sugino one if you want to attempt a special order.

Heh ummmm

K let me know. I been hankering to do it with some bikeforumsmssmms

Naw, he's waiting on my slow ass ... it's taking awhile at this time of year to come up w/ $300 worth of crap from Lambert. If anyone else out there has a spare, help Andrew out would ya?

The room is almost cleaned out and organized....finally. Gonna get em set up and tuned in the next week or so.

I don't think the donut is 'easy'. I waas thinking more along the lines of coffee, spin around the spit and then whatever. I'm too lazy to do 100km these days.

i am by no means an expert in vegetarian / vegan food but the experience most people have at Live Organic Food Bar is very pleasant. all the food there is raw vegan but i've heard that it's so creative that even meat-eaters will frequent the place. if you check it out, let me know what you think.

who's in good enough shape to do the doughnut in JANUARY!?

I'm cool with this, too. Whatever the consensus is, can we set a meeting location and time and post it here?

Are people still doing the donut ride right now, or is it unofficially off until the weather is decent? Also, are there really guys that do this thing at 40km/h the whole way? The article seems to exaggerate a little... 60km/h+ sprints at the end of a 100km fast ride? C'mon.

I can do DOUGHNUTs all year long, 'specially jelly filled.
Icing Sugar Mafia For Life!!!!