Ode to Marianne and Some FreeBird Velo News

I love Marianne Vos. I've gone on about her way too much on Twitter and the FreeBird Velo website and I'm sorry. I'm afraid if I say (gush) anymore secret agents from the Danish government are going to bust down my front door for fear that I may cause their national treasure harm. Since it's out there that I want to ride like Ms. Vos I saw it only fitting that I made a tee to honor her amazing talent and drive.  I'll just say it, she's a bad-ass and I love her, I know I'll never ride like her but I can dream can't I. So for all us oldies (women AND men) who are maybe past our prime but still find nothing wrong with admiring a great rider I give you the Marianne Vos tee. Printed on American Apparel in Dutch orange and blue and for the first time in FreeBird Velo history I will be offering women's fit tees. 

These tees are going to be offered for Pre-Sale for one week starting August 31 and ending 

September 7 on the FreeBird Velo shop. They will then be offered again at the end of September. 

TO MY LOYAL CUSTOMERS AND NEW ONES:

Just so you know my Etsy shop will be undergoing some changes in the upcoming weeks. My goal is to have all American Apparel brand tees which far surpass any tees I have used before. I will also be adding sizes to each item in the shop (meaning you'll see the t-shirts' size in the title), this should make it easier for you when ordering. No more having to leave me messages telling me which size you'd like, unless you really want to leave me one, I enjoy nice little notes. 

Since I am making a complete change in t-shirt brands I need to sell my old stock. This is good news for you because those old tees are going to be marked down significantly for the next couple weeks. Get 'em while you can! If your size tee is not available on sale items they will be back up on the shop site by the end of September when the transition phase of the shop is complete. 

If it's an emergency tee situation, for example:  it's your Nan's birthday and she really wants the Shifty tee in a certain size,  just let me know and we can work something out.

( In case you didn't know American Apparel tees are sweatshop free, made by workers who are paid fair wages, offered healthcare benefits, and are made in Los Angeles which is awesome because the tee you purchase will now officially be made and printed in California)

I just want to thank all my customers for their support over the year(s). It's great being able to share my love of cycling with you, without you guys I'd just be a bike nerd wearing one off tees, dressing my dog up in them. So thank you again, you guys are wonderful!

                                Photo:Dan Seaton

Super Secret Wiggo Tee Offer

Get that boy a Double-Double or something,
he's gonna blow away.

So, the Tour's done, the Olympics are over, and Wiggo has lived up to the media's expectations. His Boy Wonder on the other hand didn't fair so well. Cavendish lost too much weight, didn't eat enough sugar, and lost his lead out train to Wiggo during the Tour.  Here's to next year Cav, good luck, and good luck finding a new team, uh...I mean lead out train.

Nice one Wiggo indeed.
 I don't think anyone's used 'bone-idleness' since Mr. Darcy
reprimanded Jane.   

Naughty Mr.Wiggins.

In honor of Bradley Wiggin's Olympic gold, and stellar media relations I give you the Wiggo 'C**t' or if you're polite and have kids the 'Bone-idleness' t-shirt. You have the choice of either, printed on a super soft 100% cotton tee. In case you forgot where these words came from, here ya go:

"They are just f***ing w*****s. I cannot be doing with people like that. It justifies their own bone-idleness because they can’t ever imagine applying themselves to anything in their lives. It’s easy for them to sit under a pseudonym on Twitter rather than get off their arses in their own life and apply themselves and work hard at something and achieve something, and that’s ultimately it. C***s!"

I'm guessing that w*****s stands for 'wankers' which I didn't think was that bad. In fact, I used to listen to a band called 'Guns n Wankers' back in the day and they seemed quite pleasant. In all honesty I think 'bone-idleness' sounds worse. And in case you thought Brad was just cranky and it was a one-time whoopsie you must of missed the camera man video.

Due to the naughtiness of these tees I'm not selling them on my Etsy shop, but if you are interested in getting your mitts on one of these you can contact me via Twitter at @freebirdvelo Just leave me a direct message and I will bill you via Paypal, plus you can also reach me by leaving me a message on the FreeBird Velo Etsy shop. Make sure and let me know which Brad you'd like and what size t-shirt you'll need. Tees cost $24 but include free shipping. What a bargain!

Friday Morning Lights

Woke up at 3AM last night to a light show, super rare for Southern California. Not just lights but thunder too. I did the 'see the lightning, count till the thunder thing' and there was one that didn't even make it to 2 counts. That's when I turned on the TV and found security in watching Golden Girls.

The source of all lightning

When I woke up it was still cloudy, wet, and thundery. Ride or not ride? My first thought I had when I let the pups outside was, damn when'd we move to Biloxi? Second thought was damn I didn't change the flat tire on the Bianchi. I only have the steel Soma and everyone knows steel is a perfect conductor for lightning.

Also available in light blue for the faint of fuscia.

Needless to say I didn't go out for a ride today, instead I sat in the corner and bitched about 37% humidity. I know, I know, laugh all you want East coasters, we're certifiable wussies over here, I'll admit to that. After bitching I made a couple of new tees. They're up for sale on the FreeBird Velo shop via Etsy.com. Take a peek around, new things are always popping up.

Suffering Season

Maurice Garin 

From Paris to the blue waves of the Mediterranean, from         Marseille to Bordeaux, passing along the roseate and dreaming roads sleeping under the sun, across the calm of the fields of the Vendée, following the Loire, which flows on still and silent,our men are going to race madly, unflaggingly.  

               
                                             Henri Desgrange

Can you be jealous of someone else's suffering. Not a suffering such as cancer or loss of a loved one. I'm talking about the suffering that takes place while doing something you love. Right now though I'm talking about the suffering that takes place atop a saddle. When I read/hear about someone heading to the hills and I'm stuck at home I'm terribly jealous.  I love that period of time where suffering becomes surreal. We create our own rotational meditation while sitting there. It's our brains way of not allowing us to go mad. Yes we're a sick, weird bunch and I feel right at home here. The leaders, heroes, domestiques, cheats of our clan are about to race, June 30 to be precise.

Yes our time of year is coming, I know the Classics are for the 'hard men', but really, do we need to argue? 21 days of racing 2,000 something miles, a history over a 100 years old. The victories, tragedies, deceit, brotherhood, not to mention the chiseled tan legs and dangling gold medallions and wedding bands, each one with a story. It's a fucking soap opera and I love it.

It seems my love of cycling does not ebb and flow, I'm pretty consistent. But I tend to get extremely passionate about cycling around this time of year and the only way to quell it is to create. Some of my creations are good, others seem to only appeal to me, and maybe that random rider with the quirky personality. And I appreciate that quirky rider so much because I know I'm not alone when it comes to the joy of having a cycling pigeon* screen printed across my chest. I hope you share this crazy passion for 2 wheels too, enjoy the season, hope your man wins.

If  you like the tee you see above you might like the FreeBird Shop. Tees, bags, paintings and quite possibly another cycling pigeon t-shirt might appear soon. 

*

I'm Still Here!

Hello there, in case you haven't noticed I've been pretty lax on my blog entries. Le Tour is coming up in a couple of weeks, I've been gearing up for that with daily Tour de France facts on twitter (@freebirdvelo). These facts are fresh from Nick Brownlee's book Vive le Tour. I'd pick it up if you have any love whatsoever for the biggest bike race in the world, lots of random good stuff to impress the folks at the bike shop. I've also been doing research for upcoming designs which leads to reading and watching cycling for hours on end but not ending up with much as a result and having to come up with excuses as to how I spent my day. Tortured artist as my Hubby would call me. So while you wait for some new designs have a look at my shop, I just might have something you like. I've got some new artwork in the works, french inspired t-shirt designs just in time for le Boucle (I hope), and just plain old velo-centric ramblings coming up right here. And by velo-centric ramblings I mean complaining about riders who win too much (ahem, Sagan) what, too French? Well, thanks for reading and come back soon… please! just kidding, come back if ya want, it would be nice though. 

Please enjoy Poppy's antics with her sea-shammy baby 

while I try and create something.

New Tees For May

It's new tee shirt time on the FreeBird Velo Shop! Got something for everyone this time. Up here, on top, we have Fausto Coppi looking resplendent in Giro pink. 'Grazi Fausto.' Doesn't seem like you could ever thank him enough for what he's done in cycling. All the dreams he's sparked, the courage he's created, and maybe inspiring us when choosing what color and/or brand bike we ride. Uuuhh-celeste-ah. Say it like a sneeze, it sounds better. 

 What's worse, walking or paperboy'ing up a steep hill. Well, always opt for staying in the saddle, at least when it's safe, sometimes it's too narrow and there's too many obstacles, namely people. I've never seen a pro paperboy but they don't really televise everything do they. You don't know what they're doing those first 80 km.

Saving the best for last, little Tommy tongue wagger, the French Housewives Favorite. He has the most panache in the peloton, he's fun to watch, and he rides his bike the way it's supposed to be ridden. Love him. 

World's Smallest Bike Shop

I was supposed to write this post last week but I got a little sidetracked. Got to love that ADD. I have been wanting to visit the World's Smallest Bike Shop for probably a year. My husband had stopped by  awhile ago and came home with tales of the tiny shop and its welcoming owner. I was intrigued and have wanted to see this little treasure ever since. Well, last weekend I got my wish and was not disappointed.

I liked the fact he had a Kapelmuur Independent 

sticker on his door. Right above his head.

This is Dale, owner of The Velo bike shop in Claremont California. His shop sits right off Foothill Boulevard, and it is truly tiny, as you can see in the photo. I'm bad with facts, but I think it was about 5x11 feet. Definitely not big enough to work on bikes but big enough to hold some beautiful frames. This Gios (below photo) caught my eye, I still lay awake at night and think about it.

Drive by Wednesday through Saturday and you'll see Dale and his son out front working on vintage Schwinns, Peugeots (love at first sight), Raleighs, and even some mountain bikes. A lot of the bikes he works on are transformed into reliable student commuters. He has a big student-customer base due to the fact that he is right in the middle of the Claremont Colleges. Note: no fixies. He's also very generous, if you read this Dale, thank you again for the tees and stickers, yours are on the way. So if you're ever in the area make sure and stop by, you'll drool, reminisce, and have a great time talking bike.

Did I mention how much I love these Peugeots?

Made in France and check out those shifters. Hell yeah!

The Velo

242-B Foothill Blvd, Claremont CA 91711

Wed-Sat 11-6