The best bike rides end with tired legs and inspiration. Once the pedals start spinning, the ideas are bound to flow. And sometimes, you see something from the saddle that changes the way you look at the world.

We know we’re not the only ones who’ve had a eureka moment on two wheels. That’s why we’re partnering with Clif Bar, the company conceived on a bike ride, to find out what inspires you when you’re out riding.

Tag your Instagram photos with #bornonabike to join the community of inspired cyclists we’ll be featuring in our online gallery. We’ll have newly submitted pics each week, and your submissions could win you a killer prize. Clif Bar’s put messenger bags, cycling kits, and even a year’s supply of bars up for grabs, not to mention the free ARTCRANK posters we’ll be giving out to the creators of our favorite submissions during each show.

#BornOnABike officially kicks off tonight at ARTCRANK Chicago, and will run throughout the summer and fall, with community submitted photos on display at each ARTCRANK poster party.

Every time you ride a bicycle, inspiration awaits. Go get it. Then share it with #bornonabike. 

As you may have heard, we’re headed to Paris in June for our first ever show in the French capital: Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK.

Paris was recently ranked as one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world by the renowned bike-centric urban planners at Copenhagenize in their 2013 Index of Bicycle Friendly Cities, thanks in large part to the work of Vélib’, our partner in Paris:

“Paris’ commitment to improving conditions for Citizen Cyclists remains strong. The city’s bike share system remains a success and an impressive number of stretches feature bicycle infrastructure… The fantastic role of the bike share system in the nightlife shows that the citizens are embracing the bicycle for all purposes. Nobody would have thought that Paris could have done all it has done but the city continues to pinch us to tell us we’re not dreaming.”

Less than a decade ago, few would have thought of Paris — still one of the world’s busiest, most congested cities — as a bike-friendly place. But the rising popularity of Vélib’ is just one indication of how much Parisians and visitors love their bicycles, and how that love affair is transforming the city.

ARTCRANK is all about making art as accessible as bicycles. Partnering with Vélib’, an organization whose mission is getting as many people riding bicycles in Paris as possible, was a match made in bicycle heaven for our debut in the City of Light.

The ARTCRANK crew won’t touch down in Paris for another month, but to tide you over until then, Wilfried Hubert, Project Manager of Vélib’ communication, was kind enough to answer a batch of questions about Vélib’, cycling in Paris and what to expect at Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK…

Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK is taking place at the Grand Palais June 11-21. Tell me about the significance of holding an art show there.

For Parisians, the Grand Palais is the place to express the most original and reputable artistic projects in the whole country. Art takes another dimension once is arrives at the Grand Palais.

The Grand Palais is one of the most majestic places in Paris, where creativity is expressed through large events about fashion, international expositions or the event that we are participating in, “Cinema Paradiso,” which is organized by MK2, a Parisian movie theatre society. It is an event, which Vélib’ users love. It seemed like the perfect place to start off the ARTCRANK exposition, Vélib’ x Paris.

Because the philosophy of ARTCRANK is to make art as accessible as bicycles, we are extending the exposition throughout the summer, outdoors, at the Cité de la Mode et du Design (The City of Fashion and Design). The college [IFM— Institut Francais de la Mode] is focused on modern art and futuristic creations, which is very different than The Grand Palais. We are pleased to extend this exposition outside at what will be one of Parisians’ favorite spots in the capital.

Why do you think partnership between Vélib’ and ARTCRANK makes sense?

For several years, urban art, street art and other forms of expression, have been popping up all over Paris. By using Vélib’, Parisians can more easily discover this ephemeral art, and be part of the artistic movement.

Vélib’ also wanted to allow artists to express their vision of Paris and Vélib’ bikes.

Vélib’ and ARTCRANK share the same philosophy about cycling in the city and access to artistic expression. It was also interesting for us to compare the vision of Paris and Vélib’ by inviting not only local artists, but artists from around the world. We hope this first exhibition will be the birth of a Parisian ARTCRANK community.

ARTCRANK has always included charitable organizations in its events. Tell me about the charitable partners for Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK.

We have three associations that were chosen because their values align with those of Vélib’. The first is Good Planet Foundation, which works globally to educate people on environmental protection. They believe that making cities bike-friendly is the first step in this fight. The second is Mecenat Cardiac Surgery, a French organization, which provides cardiac surgery for children in developing countries born with heart defects. Once a child returns to his country after an operation in France, it is a dream come true to be able to have the freedom to ride a bicycle. The third is the Heritage Foundation: Its aims are to preserve Parisian heritage, conduct building restorations that natives and visitors can continue to discover on their Vélib’ bike trips throughout Paris.

These organizations also benefit from another event called the 24 Hours of Vélib’. Tell me more about that.

For the second year in a row, we have organized the 24 Hours of Vélib’on the Champs-Elysées. It is a relay race with 400 Vélib’ bikes that begins on Sunday, June 16, during Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK. Everyone is welcome to ride on the most beautiful avenue in the world. With each lap completed, donations are automatically made to our three partner associations.

How have attitudes toward cycling in the city changed since the introduction of Vélib’?

Drivers’ behavior has changed dramatically since the introduction of Vélib’. With more cyclists on the streets, drivers simply pay more attention to cyclists. The number of biking accidents and injuries did not increase with the number of cyclists. Parisian cyclists share space with bus traffic and taxi drivers, who are trained to properly share the road with bicycles.

Thanks to this increased attention, Paris has been able to further develop the city for cyclists by creating areas where bikes can run in both street directions, whereas drivers cannot. Soon, cyclists will also be able to make right turns on red lights — while respecting pedestrians, of course — while cars cannot.

How is Vélib’ planning to expand or evolve its service in the future?

Vélib’ has become a metropolitan mode of transportation used to get to work or school daily. In the coming years, Vélib’ must successfully challenge Paris neighborhoods where the bike programs are placed but are rarely used. Vélib’ is testing new bicycles with an electric assist motor now. This is perhaps the future of the service.

Vélib’ x Paris by ARTCRANK will feature the work of nine top French, British and American designers on display at the legendary Grand Palais, June 11 – 21. The show will move to the Cité de la Mode et du Design for an extended run through June 21 – October 6.

Find out more about the 24 Hours of Vélib’.

*                    *                    *

Peut être avez vous entendu les nouvelles: nous serons à Paris en Juin pour notre première exposition: Vélib’ x Paris par ARTCRANK.

Récemment, Paris a été classée comme l’une des villes les plus respectueuses des vélos dans le monde par l’agence Copenhagenize et leur classement des Villes Vélo 2013. Cette position dans le classement est principalement due au travail de Vélib’, notre partenaire de la ville de Paris:

L’engagement de Paris pour l’amélioration des conditions des cyclistes reste forte. Le système de vélos en libre est toujours un succès et plus de 700 km de voies ont été aménagées pour les cyclistes … Le rôle fantastique du Vélib’ y compris dans la vie nocturne montre que les citoyens se tournent vers le vélo pour tous les usages. Personne n’aurait pensé que Paris aurait pu faire tout ce qu’il a fait, mais la ville continue impressionner.

Il y a moins d’une décennie, peu de gens auraient imaginé Paris, l’une des villes les plus animées du monde — comme un lieu accueillant les vélos. Mais la forte popularité de Vélib’ montre à quel point les Parisiens et visiteurs aiment leurs bicyclettes, et comment cette histoire d’amour est en train de transformer la ville.

ARTCRANK fait en sorte de rendre l’art aussi accessible que le vélo. Vélib’, un service dont la mission est d’amener plus de gens vers l’utilisation du vélo dans Paris, est fait pour guider ARTCRANK dans ses débuts dans la Ville-Lumière.

L’équipe ARTCRANK souhaite installer sa présence à Paris au-delà de cette première exposition. Enattendant, Wilfried Hubert, chargé de la communication de Vélib’ à la Mairie de Paris, a bien voulu répondre à nos questions sur Vélib’, le vélo à Paris et l’exposition Vélib’ x Paris par ARTCRANK …

Vélib’ x Paris par ARTCRANK se déroule au Grand Palais du 11 au 21 juin prochains. Parlez-moi de la signification de la tenue de cette exposition au Grand Palais.

Pour les Parisiens, le Grand Palais est le lieu où s’expriment les projets artistiques les plus originaux et les plus réputés de tout le pays. Les projets prennent une autre dimension dès lors qu’ils arrivent au Grand Palais.

Le Grand Palais est l’un des lieux les plus majestueux de Paris où la créativité s’exprime à travers de grands évènements tels que les défilés de mode, des expositions internationales ou l’événement auquel nous participons: « Cinema Paradiso» organisé par mk2. C’est un événement que les usagers de Vélib’ adoreront. Il nous semblait donc être le lieu parfait pour lancer l’exposition, Vélib’ x Paris par ARTCRANK.

Parce que la philosophie d’ARTCRANK est de rendre l’art aussi accessible qu’est Vélib’, nous prolongerons l’exposition tout l’été, en plein air, à la Cité de la Mode et du Design. Ce lieu est ancré dans la modernité et tourné vers les créations du futur. Nous sommes donc ravis d’organiser ce prolongement de l’exposition dans un lieu ouvert à tous qui sera l’un des spots préférés des Parisiens cet été dans la capitale.

Pourquoi le partenariat Vélib’-ARTCRANK fait-il sens?

On constate dans Paris, depuis plusieurs années, le développement de l’art urbain, le street art, une forme d’expression que soutient la ville de Paris. En se déplaçant à Vélib’, les Parisiens découvrent cet art éphémère et mobile et on peut noter l’attrait particulier des usagers du service pour ce courant artistique.

C’est ainsi que Vélib’ a voulu lui aussi permettre à des artistes d’exprimer leur vision de Paris et du Vélib’. Vélib’ et ARTCRANK partagent la même philosophie concernant le vélo en ville et la démocratisation de l’accès à l’expression artistique. Il était également intéressant pour nous de confronter la vision de Paris et de Vélib’ que peuvent avoir les artistes locaux et les artistes du monde entier. Enfin cette première exposition sera peut-être le début de la naissance d’une communauté ARTCRANK parisienne?

ARTCRANK a toujours invité des associations carritatives à leurs événements. Parlez-moi de vos associations?

Nous avons souhaité associer à cette exposition les associations partenaires d’un autre évènement qui aura lieu au même moment sur les Champs-Elysées : les 24h Vélib’. Les trois associations ont été sélectionnées pour leurs liens avec les valeurs de Vélib’. La première, la fondation Good Planet a pour objectif d’éduquer les citoyens du monde pour protéger l’environnement. Dans cet effort que chacun doit mener, se déplacer en ville à Vélib’ ou à vélo est un premier acte d’engagement dans ce combat quotidien. La seconde association est Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque qui opère en France des enfants atteins de malformations cardiaques nés dans des pays défavorisés. Une fois de retour dans leur pays, le premier rêve que réalisent ces enfants est très souvent de monter sur un vélo pour profiter de la liberté qui leur est offerte avec leur nouveau cœur. Pour Vélib’ cet engagement a du sens et nous permet de rappeler qu’il est bon pour le cœur de faire du vélo régulièrement. Enfin la troisième association est la Fondation du Patrimoine: son objectif est de préserver le patrimoine parisien, de mener des restaurations que les Parisiens découvrent lors de leurs trajets à Vélib’ dans la capitale.

Nous adorons le principe des 24h Velib’. Pouvez-vous nous en dire plus?

Pour la deuxième année consécutive nous organisons les 24h Vélib’ sur les Champs-Elysées. Il s’agit d’un relai citoyen de 400 Vélib’ le dimanche 16 juin de 8h à 20h. Chacun peut venir pédaler sur la plus belle avenue du monde et faire don de son énergie. A chaque boucle réalisée des dons sont automatiquement reversés pour les trois associations partenaires.

Comment la place du vélo dans la ville a changé depuis l’introduction de Vélib’?

Les comportements des automobilistes ont drastiquement changé. Avec plus de cyclistes dans les rues, l’attention des automobilistes s’est accrue. C’est ainsi que le nombre d’accidentés à vélo n’a pas augmenté avec le nombre de cycliste. Les cyclistes parisiens partagent des espaces de circulations avec les couloirs réservés aux bus et chauffeurs de taxi, des professionnels de la conduite qui reçoivent des formations pour bien partager la voirie avec les vélos.

Grace à cette attention renforcée, Paris a pu aller plus loin dans l’aménagement de la ville pour les cyclistes en mettant en place des zones 30 dans lesquelles les vélos peuvent rouler dans les deux sens de circulation contrairement aux automobilistes. Prochainement, la mise en place du tourne-à-droite permettra même aux cyclistes de ne pas s’arrêter au feu rouge pour tourner à droite à une intersection… tout en respectant la priorité aux piétons bien entendu.

A quoi ressemblera Vélib’ dans le futur?

Vélib’ est devenu un mode de transport à part entière dont les métropolitains sont de plus en plus nombreux à utiliser le service non pas pour se balader mais pour se rendre quotidiennement au travail ou à l’école. Pour les prochaines années, Vélib’ doit réussir à défier les quartiers en hauteur de Paris, là où les vélos descendent mais sont rarement remontés par les usagers. Des Vélib’ à assistance électrique sont en cours d’expérimentation… il s’agit peut-être du futur du service ?

Vélib’ x Paris présentera les œuvres de neuf excellents designers français, britanniques et américains au légendaire Grand Palais (lien vers le site du Grand Palais – voir ci-dessous), du 11 au 21 Juin. L’exposition se poursuivra aux Docks, Cité de la Mode et du Design pour du 21 Juin au 6 Octobre.

Pour en savoir plus sur les 24 Heures du Vélib’.

“A Bike Parade” by Natalie Wynings

Natalie Wynings
“A Bike Parade,” on Crane’s Lettra Ecru White

What’s the story behind your poster?
I wanted to capture the sort of innate happiness that comes with riding a bike. I thought of old, childhood stories and the anthropomorphism you find throughout those stories. I knew I wanted to do animals, but I wanted to do more than just a critter riding a bike.

My first thought was how comical it would be to have a giant grizzly bear riding a bike. And then the idea sort of morphed into a group of animals riding bikes. Eventually, I arrived at the final doodle of the animals getting bigger and the bikes getting smaller in a parade formation. My favorite ended up being the last animal I added into the mix, the fox on the tall bike.

Why did you choose the Neenah stock that you did?
Well, I’d actually never worked with Neenah paper before. So, when I saw they were sponsoring ARTCRANK, I figured I’d give them a try. I wanted to work with letterpress, so I chose Crane Lettra 110# in Ecru White to keep with that storybook aesthetic. It worked out great!

Erik Hamline
“Let’s Ride,” printed on Astrobrights Cosmic Orange

What’s the story behind your poster?
Well, aesthetically it’s based on late 60s–early 70s psychedelic “Free Love” era poster work. Essentially, a very “top level” concept–Plainly, good times on a bike.

Why did you choose the Neenah Paper stock that you did?
Since Neenah picked up Wausau’s Astrobrights line I’ve been using them on a ton of my personal projects. Cost, color availability and quality are all perfect.

“Beat of the Street” by Antonia Maistrova

Antonia Maistrova
“Beat of the Street,” printed on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

What’s the story behind your poster?
A bicycle feels like an extension of my body, and I wanted to communicate that as well as my love for it. In addition, riding a bike is a physical activity, and I wanted to do a block print due to its similar repetitive manual process. I wanted to spend time not only on the idea but also on actually creating the piece.

Why did you choose the Neenah Paper stock that you did?
I knew that I wanted a crisp white tone and a smooth hand. I tried a couple different stock options and found that the Neenah absorbed the ink the best, and also had a great texture that complemented the rougher texture of the ink itself. The paper smells great, too!

Save 20% on Neenah Paper for your next poster project.

Neenah Paper is offering an exclusive 20% discount on paper sheets for ARTCRANK artists and fans. Neenah’s full product line is now available for purchase through their website, along with papers by CRANE and ESSE.

If you want to print on Neenah Paper for your next poster project, here’s how it works:

1. Go to http://www.neenahpaper.com.

2. Roll over “Shop Neenah” in the top nav and select the paper you want under “Shop By Brand.”

3. Using the page navigation at left, click on “Size” and select “26 x 40.”

4. When you find the stock and color you want, select “1 Sheet Pack” under “PACK,” enter the number of sheets you want under “QTY” and click “Add To Cart.”

5. On the second screen of the checkout process, you’ll be asked for a Coupon Code. Enter “CRANK,” and the 20% discount will be applied to your order.

Happy printing!

“30 Days of Biking ignited my bicycling passion because, very recently, I’d transformed into a full-time bike commuter,” says 30DOB founder Patrick Stephenson. “Over the course of the winter, I’d transitioned from an occasional cyclist to a more serious one, commuting daily between St. Paul and Minneapolis. 30 Days of Biking became a way to carry that passion from winter into spring by riding every day in April.”

Right off the bat, Stephenson took to Twitter, where he and his friends used #30DaysofBiking to swap stories and motivate one another to keep pedaling. Three years and a few thousand tweets later, and 30 Days of Biking has gone global.

“I didn’t count on it turning into a social media phenomenon, or a true, worldwide community of cyclists,” says Stephenson. “I just wanted a way to share my love for bikes with friends.”

2013 30 Days of Biking poster by Adam Turman

Stephenson certainly wasn’t the first cyclist compelled to profess his love for bicycles at every possible opportunity. Let’s face it, most of us can’t shut up about bikes for more than 15 minutes at a time. The brilliance of 30 Days of Biking is that it’s based around a common, attainable goal that’s as challenging as any given rider makes it. It doesn’t matter how far you ride, just ride.

And it couldn’t be any simpler:

1. Take the pledge in March
2. Ride a bike each day in April
3. Share your adventures online*
*Feel awesome about the thousands of others doing the same.

Simplicity and solidarity have organically turned 30DOB into a worldwide community of joyful cyclists in less than three years. 4,000 riders of every conceivable level from nearly 100 countries made last year the largest on record.

In addition to online camaraderie, 30DOB group rides have also been popping up with increasing frequency. Some of the largest rides bring cyclists together around themes of short shorts, dancing and denim.

Pledging takes less than a minute, and one glance at the excitement already swirling online around 30DOB 2013 is infectious.

Three-time Tour de France winner Greg Lemond is a fan.

“Sharing stories, whether as tweets, Facebook posts, videos, or poetry, is what connects one person to another person,” says Stephenson. “We’re united by the commonalities that stories reveal. Commonalities create community. Without that sharing, our community of joyful cyclists would be nothing. It’s important for a 30DOB cyclist to know that there’s a thousands-strong group of people out there rooting them on.”

You know what to do. Saddle up and be sure to follow 30 Days of Biking on Twitter.

Here are 10 of our favorite Tweets so far:

Confession: I have barely biked at all since last April. Resolution: that’s going to change on April 1. #30daysofbiking

@30daysofbiking I’ve done it! I’ve pledged. I love cycling so I’m going to try and cycle 30 slightly different journeys for a challenge.

@30daysofbiking I am interested in making @30daysofbiking my life partner, does that count?

@30daysofbiking Здравствуйте! Excited to be representing the Kazakh contingent of April’s #30daysofbiking

@30daysofbiking Made the pledge. So ready for spring. Dusting off the bike.

After moving to #Minneapolis, I found reason to stay (and love) my new city with #30daysofbiking.

I’m the first Spaniard to join @30daysofbiking… lots of #AsturiasBike heroes will join us.

@30daysofbiking I did it….I’m #1,000!!!!

I’ve just pledged to take part in this year’s @30daysofbiking if you could arrange for 30 days of sunshine too that would be super #NoChance

Can’t wait for April and the @30daysofbiking excitement. The trainer works but there’s nothing like the trails. http://30daysofbiking.com

After almost five minutes of knocking on the front door and ringing the doorbell without any sign of life inside the house, I was beginning to wonder if I’d written down the wrong time for the interview. I knew I was in the right place—ink and old screens were all over the front porch—but where the hell was Andy?

Just as I was about ready to hop back on my rundown winter bike and pedal home across Minneapolis, I heard snow-crunching footsteps coming around the side of the house. Sure enough, Andy McInnis, a guy with a smile big enough to make his winter moustache look like an excitable caterpillar, came jogging up.

“Hey Pat, crew’s in the back! We figured we’d do the interview in the studio.”

It made sense that screen printers would want to do an interview in a print studio. And it made even more sense when that studio turned out to be in a converted garage. The Screen Printing on the Cheap crew rolls true to its name.

Three years earlier, McInnis, a Minneapolis-based screen printer and veteran of several ARTCRANK shows, had grown fed up with the lack of accessible information around learning how to print practically on a budget.

“If you had money to buy a press or could afford to go to school, you could get the knowledge,” said McInnis. “But otherwise, there wasn’t a place to get this kind of information.”

McInnis figured that if he was struggling, he likely wasn’t alone. Armed with a wealth of knowledge of his craft, McInnis set out to find a way to introduce others to the art form in a more accessible and empowering manner. With friends Sam Thompson and Caitlin Hargarten on-board, it was decided that the group would attempt to publish a book that could bring screen printing to the masses.

Graphic designer Nate Geon Johannes and web designer Bjorn Hagstrom soon joined the fold, and in the words of Hargarten, “Shit got legit.”

Fast-forward three years, and Screen Printing on the Cheap has become a center for practical knowledge of screen-printing across a number of mediums. Through their website, workshops, mobile printing press and most recently, 160-page book, Screen Printing on the Cheap is doing what they sent out to do, and bringing screen printing to the masses.

Predictably, the book looks incredible, and is a flat-out pleasure to read (something I wasn’t sure was even possible with a how-to book). McInnis’ personality and years of experience come out in full effect in the writing. Expertise is boiled down to practical, step-by-step information that gives the reader all he or she needs to start printing and sustain the endeavor.

“The book doesn’t solicit products. It promotes how to do it. Period,” says Geon Johannes. “It’s an objective foundation. It gives you what you need to get started, and you can take it whatever direction you want.”

We’re certainly on-board with the direction Screen Printing on the Cheap is headed. To find out, join the SPOTC gang, plus Twin Cities screen printing illuminati Aesthetic Apparatus, Adam Turman and Steady Print Shop Co. for the PYOP Pull Your Own Print poster show and book release on Saturday, March 2 at 7:00 with our friends at Big Table Studio in St. Paul.

–Patrick Murphy

The bike in question started out as the 2013 Handsome Cycles Shop Bike — a coaster brake-equipped single speed bike built for, as the brand’s website puts it, “quick run to the bodega for beer and burritos” and “setting skid records on that fresh blacktop down the street.”

“I fell in love with the bike at Handsome’s launch party last summer in Minneapolis,” says ARTCRANK founder Charles Youel. “Five minutes after I walked in, I cornered Ben Morrison and started talking to him about putting one together for me.” Morrison and fellow Handsome Cycles co-founder Jesse Erickson were all over the idea, especially since Youel wanted the bike in a scorching shade of red instead of the standard army green that the Shop Bike would be produced in.

As Morrison puts it, “We wanted to make a custom bike for Charles in ARTCRANK red with the ARTCRANK logo, and that was it.” But as they sat down to spec out the bike, the results looked too good to make just one. Then, Morrison and Erickson had a better idea: Make a limited edition ARTCRANK Shop Bike in the signature red color, with a mission to raise money for World Bicycle Relief, a nonprofit partnership that provides bicycles to people in rural Africa.

Initially, they wondered how Youel would feel about sharing his formerly one-of-a-kind ride with the cycling public, even for such a great cause. But that turned out to be an easy sell. “ARTCRANK did a fundraiser with World Bicycle Relief at Interbike in 2012, and we’ve always been big fans of what they do,” says Youel. And with that, the partnership was off and rolling.

Handsome Cycles will debut the limited edition ARTCRANK Shop Bike on its website on Friday, February 22, coinciding with ARTCRANK’s first show of the year in Austin, Texas. Some lucky bike industry folks and Minneapolis locals will get the first look at them the following night at Handsome’s annual Cutter’s Ball — held this year at the company’s new headquarters in the Minneapolis Warehouse District.

The ARTCRANK Shop Bike will be available for purchase exclusively through Handsome Cycles’ website (http://www.handsomecycles.com). Complete bikes will sell for $949.95, and Handsome Cycles will make a donation in the name of the purchaser that will allow World Bicycle Relief to provide a complete bike to a community in Africa. Framesets will sell for $479.95, and Handsome Cycles will make a donation in the name of the purchaser that will allow World Bicycle Relief to purchase a mechanic’s tool kit to maintain bicycles.

In rural African communities, these bikes provide access to transportation that allows people to seek out healthcare, an education and economic opportunity. To date, World Bicycle Relief has provided nearly 125,000 rugged bicycles engineered specifically for rural terrain and load requirements, as well as tools and training to keep them operating.

See the Handsome Cycles ARTCRANK Shop Bike!

The 2013 edition of ARTCRANK ATX features hand-made, bike-inspired posters created by 30 local artists. Admission is free, and limited edition signed and numbered copies of all posters will be available for $40 each.

By definition, a bike party wouldn’t be a bike party without beer. As such, a selection of craft beers by Widmer Brothers Brewing will be available at the Opening Night Party in exclusive ARTCRANK pint glasses, with all proceeds benefitting Austin-based LIVESTRONG and its ongoing campaign to provide free cancer support services to help people cope with the financial, emotional and practical challenges that accompany the disease.

“Austin has a long history of fostering cycling community and promoting the fight against cancer, and ARTCRANK is the perfect event to bring these two together,” says Brian Myers of LIVESTRONG. “It’s an event that provides the local community the chance to have a cold beverage, support local artists, and enjoy life – while benefiting an organization that is trying to help everyone do the same. I couldn’t be more excited for ARTCRANK’s second year in Austin, the spirit and enthusiasm of everyone involved is exactly what we need to encourage our survivors.”

After the show’s Austin 2012 debut produced record opening night crowds and poster sales, ARTCRANK founder Charles Youel is looking forward to an even bigger event in 2013. “We got an incredible reception in Austin last year, from the cycling community, the creative community, and everyone who came to the show,” Youel says. “We’ve got a lot of new poster artists this year, and I know there’s some friendly competition going on. People saw the quality of the work we had in 2012, and they want to set the bar even higher this year.”

Beyond Austin, ARTCRANK will stage shows in 10 more U.S. cities: Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Denver, New York, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. ARTCRANK will also hold two shows in the UK in London and Manchester, and will stage its first event in Paris, in partnership with Vélib’, the world’s second-largest bike share program.

ARTCRANK ATX: Opening Night Party
Friday, February 22 — 6:00pm – 11:00pm CST
Pine Street Station
1101 E. 5^th Street
Austin, TX

ARTCRANK ATX 2013 On Facebook!

- Original prints from local artists – all sold for $40
- Beer and custom pint glasses by Widmer Brothers Brewing
- Proceeds from pint glass sales go to benefit LIVESTRONG

ARTCRANK ATX: Extended Showing at Mellow Johnny’s
Saturday, February 23 (7:00pm) — Sunday, March 17
Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop
400 Nueces
Austin, TX

- LIVESTRONG fundraising party on Saturday, February 23
- Poster sales continue while supplies last
- See the Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop website for business hours

Since we graduated from Macalester College last May, Charlotte hasn’t wasted any time in doing her part to get more women riding. With a pair of prestigious grants secured, she hit the road the first week of June for 15 months abroad, dedicated to studying how women across cultures are personally, politically, and economically empowered through biking, while actively getting more women on bikes along the way.

Throughout the first half of her travels, Charlotte has organized, taught, studied, raced, built and fixed bikes on four different continents—all chronicled on her aptly named blog, Woman On a Wheel.

With a few hours before her flight from Paris to Sierra Leone just before New Year’s, Charlotte took a break from packing and passed up sleep to share her favorite experiences from each of her first seven months abroad with us. Enjoy.

“Fairy Godmothers on Bikes” (Quito, Ecuador)
Before starting the year of my Watson fellowship, I returned to Quito, Ecuador, where I lived in 2010, to create a big sister/little sister cycling program called “Hadas Madrinas en Bici” with a grant from the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation. I used the grant money to buy and build 20 bikes for the Carishina en Bici Collective (“Tomboys on Bikes”), and we lent out the bikes to women who didn’t have the economic resources to buy their own, and paired them with a biking mentor/big sister. Carishina en Bici is already a baller organization of incredible, strong, and caring women, who were previously doing amazing work with no resources, so this project increases their capacity to positively impact the lives of women in Quito. Two highlights: 1. Teaching my little sister, Gaby, how to ride a bike and getting to see how excited she was when she first successfully pedaled around the park, and seeing her motivation to keep practicing. 2. I learned a lot from organizing with the Carishina en Bici group about how to work with a horizontal, volunteer-run collective. It was one of the most democratic spaces I’ve ever been a part of–so rad!

Carishina Race Ecológica: Pedal Power in Fishnets (Quito, Ecuador)
Three years ago, while I was living in Ecuador full time, I thought it was whack that the alley-cat races were so dominated by men. I decided to do something about it and started an all women’s alley-cat race series. I never thought many people would show up, or that it would take off the way that it has. I organized three races in 2010 before leaving Ecuador, but this last summer I finally got a chance to race instead of organize. It was, in a word, awesome. Over 100 women raced in pairs through the streets in Quito, dressed in costumes ranging from Frida to Avatars to astronauts, but always outfitted with huge smiles as they cheered each other on as they raced past. All the stops were ecologically themed—some of my personal favorites were making milkshakes on bike blenders and using pedal–powered grinders to make recycled paper. It was a blast, and so much fun to experience it from the perspective of a racer instead of an organizer. The race is also known for the most happening dance after-parties that Quito has ever seen, and it didn’t disappoint.

Riding Half a Country in a Day in the Name of Bike Polo (Taiwan)
There are a lot of awesome things about the Watson Fellowship. One of which is that if someone says to you, “Hey, there’s this bike polo tournament in Taiwan in December, want to come?” you only have to think about it for approximately two seconds before answering “I’m in!” And that was more or less how I ended up going to the Takao Bike Polo Tournament in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I played on a team with two good friends I made at the bike shop ‘Natooke’ in Chengdu, China, and we had a blast slaying on the polo court. Adding to the awesomeness, some friends from the Natooke shop and I rode half the island of Taiwan (220km) in one day to get to the tournament. Despite 100km of rain, it was an awesome way to see the country and get our legs extra warmed up for the tournament.

Fixed Gear Revolution (Beijing, China)
The biggest fixed gear event of the year in Beijing is a three-day weekend of events called the Fixed Gear Revolution. I could pretend that I planned really well to be in Beijing during the event, but honestly, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I participated in three of the six events of the weekend: a crit, an alley-cat, and a small polo tournament. The crit, my first ever, was a circuit around Beijing’s infamous Olympic Park. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted after a race (last year’s All-City Championship in Minneapolis being a close second). After the race I was so hungry that at 2 am, I went to KFC to crush some fried chicken sandwiches, which is saying something for me. Day 3 of the weekend began with a morning alley-cat through Beijing, which included (unintentionally) biking on highways, eating the spiciest chicken wing I’ve ever encountered, and moving peas with chopsticks. It was disappointing, though, to see that not nearly as many women participated in the events compared to men, and that prizes for female winners were worth literally a thousand dollars less. While I had a lot of fun at the event, it definitely got me thinking about how fixed gear culture is being exported around the world, and how gender politics fits into that.

Ride through Jakarta – Woman on a Wheel from Charlotte Fagan on Vimeo.

Weaving Through Traffic (Jakarta, Indonesia)
It’s hard to sufficiently express what traffic is like in Jakarta. Until you experience the anarchy, it’s hard to impress upon people how it’s even possible for so many cars and motorcycles to occupy a network of roads at that density for miles on end. To put it in perspective, it’s not uncommon for a four-mile commute to take two hours in a car. These same conditions make Jakarta one of the most exciting and challenging cities I’ve ever biked in. Riding down the road, you pick a line between the gridlocked traffic and bob and weave your way through. It’s even more fun riding with friends as you race through the traffic, seeing who can snake through the fastest. To me, it sort of felt like being a kid again, playing in a playground of traffic.

Bike Politics and Organizing (Jogjakarta, Indonesia)
Jogjakarta, located in central Java, is known as the arts and cultural capital of Indonesia, and the city is overflowing with university students. Both of these factors, among others, point to the makings of an excellent bike culture, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. The bike community in Jogja is one of the coolest I’ve ever experienced. There are tons of separate, small bike communities with different interests, but they all come together for larger events while still maintaining their own autonomy. It was one of the most diverse, inclusive, and democratic bike communities I’ve ever seen. I spent time hanging out with a bike/fashion/heritage collective called Siti Baik that really opened my eyes to how fashion can play a role in promoting a local (non-western) biking identity. The bike scene in Jogjakarta is diverse across age, gender, class, and ethnicity, and I feel like I learned a lot about bike politics and organizing from the experience that I hope to bring to other communities I’m involved with in the future.

Getting Lost (Jogja, Indonesia)
In preparation for a long bike tour (that never ended up happening, go figure), I started going on training rides while in Jogja. Early morning rides exploring the rice paddies, mountains, and coast of the province are some of the fondest memories of my time there. One of the coolest parts of riding in that area is that you can get lost while still knowing more or less where you are. If you’re going uphill, you’re headed north, going downhill is south, and there’s a visible mountain range to the east. The geography of the area gave me the confidence to explore tiny roads and paths knowing that eventually, I could make my way back. On those rides, I encountered tons of rural women and girls riding old-school colonial bikes and wearing the traditional batik clothing and huge hats—definitely a glimpse into a bike lifestyle that I would have otherwise never known existed.

Charlotte is currently in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, where she’s volunteering with the Village Bicycle Project through the end of March, teaching kids to ride and working to expand the local bicycle library. We’ll look to do a second installment of Charlotte’s travels down the road, but in the meantime, follow her at Woman On a Wheel, if you can keep up.

–Patrick Murphy

If that decision were based solely on requests delivered via email in the past 12 months, we would be hosting shows in more than 50 U.S. cities. As well as in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Sydney, Johannesburg, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Auckland, Toronto, Copenhagen, Mexico City, Prague, Istanbul, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Stockholm, Dublin, Montreal, Moscow, Rome, Edinburgh, and Bucharest.

As it stands, we’re still a small band of brothers and sisters united by a love of bikes and art, driven by an obsessive desire to bring ARTCRANK to as many places as we can before our brains spontaneously combust.

We’ve had the great fortune and honor to get immeasurable help from strangers turned friends in all of our host cities, every corner of the country, and beyond. And in the U.S., we’re able to support more shows than we ever dreamed possible thanks to the support of Widmer Brothers Brewing, Clif Bar and Neenah Paper.

After much discussion, we decided that we could comfortably add one new U.S. city for our 2013 show schedule. So of course, we proceeded to add three: Chicago, Seattle and Boston.

All three cities have their own pages on our site, and we’re enthusiastically seeking artists who live and work in all three to create posters:

ARTCRANK Chicago: Call For Artists

ARTCRANK Seattle: Call For Artists

ARTCRANK Boston: Call For Artists

We’re also beginning a partnership with Vélib, the world’s second-largest bike share system, to host an event in Paris. And we’re expanding our UK calendar with a show in Manchester.

Our first show of 2013 kicks off in less than two weeks in Austin. After that, we’re back home to Minneapolis, the city where it all began back in 2007. Then on to St. Louis, Denver, New York, London, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles…

It’s going to be an epic ride. Hope we see you at least once along the way.

Matt Fleming
I’ve been growing as a cyclist over the past five years, and also growing as an independent designer and illustrator here in Oakland, CA. This past year has been an absolute blessing as I’ve found myself at the intersection of both passions, getting to create bike-related art for businesses, non-profits, and myself. It started with my fourth year designing a poster for ARTCRANK SFO, which lead to commissioned work for Interbike in Las Vegas, giving way to an opportunity to collaborate with Specialized. I’m currently working on art for the Bay Area’s Bike To Work Day 2013 (and trying to grind out some winter mileage out on the road).

Amanda Willis | @awillis
I’m a busy, single career gal. But, this past summer I figured out a new, more convenient way of meeting potential dates.

I raced home after work to get a nice ride in before the sun went down. I was rerouted through my St. Paul neighborhood due to construction. Not being on my normal course, I had to was trying to manuver my way through the rush hour traffic when I accidentally lost my balance and sideswiped a stopped car.

Me: “Oh, s@$%.”
Driver, rolling down his window: “Are you ok?”
Me: “Yes, sorry about that, let me just fix your mirror for you.”
Driver: “Hey, you want to grab a drink?”

I panicked and kept pedaling. It could have been kismet, we’ll never know.

Ben McCoy | @btbenmccoy
My best bike story of 2012 is the combination of two back-to-back Minnesotan weekends in June. The first weekend was the Urban Assault Ride (UAR) followed by the Westside Dirty Benjamin the next. And the reason these events were so much fun is my good friend, Mr. Adam Turman.

Adam and I have been riding together for a couple of years now. Our rides are generally longer, more casual “multi-surface” expeditions – often accompanied by a group of friends we call THE GENTS. Well, in 2011 we decided to try our hand at an actual “race,” entered the UAR, and subsequently placed 7th. So in 2012 we felt an obligation to try and do better. Unfortunately, due to a miscue, we finished 30th. We were a little disappointed, but didn’t lament our misfortune because we had a really good time. Plus, we had to now focus our attention exclusively on the Dirty B.

The Westside Dirty Benjamin was a double-first for both of us. It was our first century, as well as our first gravel race. But we had a game plan and did a good job training for it; so come race day, it was just a matter of execution. And after 100+ miles of making tiny circles, rallying one another, and meeting new people along the way, we crossed the finish and basked in the glow of our shared accomplishment.

We didn’t do anything “epic” or come home with any hardware, but those two weekends in June made my summer because I got to share the experience with one of my favorite people.

Lara Lebeiko | @bicyclehabitat
My most memorable ride of the year…was both an adventure and a disaster. But when a pro athlete asks you to go for a ride, you don’t turn down the invite. You just shouldn’t suggest going up the mountain again after having a successful first run. The rider? Rebecca Rusch, world champion endurance racer. Me? A New Yorker at 8,000ft+ elevation. I survived. And it makes for a great story. But it’s safe to say that 150 stitches later; the only thing I can beat Rebecca at is storytelling.

Dmitry Gudkov | @gudphoto
On a visit to London last April I was riding a Boris Bike (bike share bike) over the Westminster Bridge when I saw something fly off the double-decker tour bus in front of me and land in my path. It was a hat that up until a few seconds earlier had sat atop the head of a photo-snapping tourist on the open-air upper level of the bus. I saw the man clutch his now-bare head and look back with resignation as the bus continued to speed across the bridge.

Not having anywhere in particular to go, I decided to try and do a good deed. I grabbed the hat, jumped on my heavy, 3-speed rental, and gave chase. The tourist, resigned to his hatless existence, was still on the upper deck taking photos when I pedaled up behind the bus and started waving his hat up at him. I must have looked like a manic, overfriendly cyclist since he waved back cautiously. Then he saw what was in my hand, and comprehension dawned. He ran to the front of the bus and down the stairs to alert the driver that he was expecting a delivery. I kept riding behind the bus for a while until I caught up at a red light on Parliament Square and managed to pass the item through the window to the driver. The light turned green, and they were off.

Brittney Burkholder | @brit_burkholder
Somehow, by accident, 2012 was my year of the bicycle. It started when a need for a new bicycle and a little cash presented themselves simultaneously, in March… Nine months, six cities, and thousands of miles later, I don’t remember life before my flashy little fixed-gear Cinelli. On a whim, I moved, with my bicycle, from Toronto to New York City. On a whim, I flew, with my bicycle, from New York City to Portland. And on a whim, I rode my bike from Portland to the Mexican border. In the last nine months, I’ve become a bike messenger, and a bike mechanic. I’ve fallen in love almost exclusively with boys on bicycles. I’ve locked my bike up with countless new friends and old friends. I’ve watched Line of Sight and Premium Rush, and then left the cinema to wreak havoc on New York City with all the crazy cats I just watched on the screen. I’ve crashed into cars and jaywalking pedestrians and spent three days in the hospital after removing a mirror with my kidney. I’ve discovered a new level of joy in simplicity and self-sufficiency. I’ve most definitely spent more time with my bike than with any one person. If tearing down 7th Ave amongst a sea of taxis is the closest I’ll ever be to flying, that’s close enough.

Jordan Schaffel | @jordanschaffel
I rode the Austin LIVESTRONG century this year, and it was a new route. At the 47-mile mark, a huge hill loomed in the distance. Since I’m a terrible climber, I kept telling myself there was no way they were going to stick that big hill in the middle of a 100-miler. To my horror, “16%” was brightly painted on the road at the foot of the beast. While about half of the riders or more were walking up the hill, this 200-pounder, for a reason I’m still unsure, was determined to make it to the top without stopping. I saw a few riders using the switchback technique, so I gave that a try. Lo and behold, I got up that hill that locals call “The Man Maker.” At the 60-mile mark, I discovered I had new muscles that I hadn’t used before. The insides of my legs between the quads and the hamstrings had never been used (or abused) like they had been on that hill, so the last 40 miles were an amazing combination of cramping and easy spinning to complete my first 100-miler. But the memory of ascending that steep hill on my first century will always be a fantastic reminder from 2012!

Stephen Arthur | @cyclenyc
I was struck in the face with a brick by some kids who ambushed me from a Navy Street overpass in Brooklyn on 8/12/2011 while cycling home from work.  I sustained serious injuries even though I was riding with a helmet and glasses in a bike lane in broad daylight.

After a few months, I overcame my injuries enough to get back on my bike in January of 2012. Not only that, I was also able to lobby NYC DOT to extend protective fencing on the overpass to protect all road users, and testify in front of the New York City Council about my experience on 2/28/2012.

I have since learned that golf balls, basketballs, rocks, car batteries, apples, ice balls, and oranges have been thrown at passing cyclists from that spot.

The NYC DOT really needs to go further and completely redesign Navy Street to make it more friendly for everyone! While the fences are an improvement, it’s still a very poor and alienating road design!

In the meantime, I was recently contacted by Manhattan Borough President, about the lack of cameras on that NYCHA properties, as a teenager was just murdered in his district, and no cameras to deter violent crime are available there either!

James Greig | @CycleLoveHQ
When I started selling CycleLove t-shirts, I made myself a quiet promise: to deliver my first order in person by bike. It seemed like a simple way of celebrating this small but important milestone in my new venture. As I’m based in London, I figured my first customer wouldn’t be too far away. So you can imagine my mixed emotions when the first order came from Peterborough, over a hundred miles away. I did the ride solo, without any training or special kit, because I wanted to make the journey as a human on a bike, not a “cyclist”.

Naresh Sandhu 
Ask anyone from Birmingham about canals and they will invariably (and proudly) inform you that Birmingham has more canals than Venice. The towpaths, which lie under the city streets, are accessible via a series of walkways, bridges and stairs.

Largely unused by the general public, these paths are ideal for leisure cyclists and urban commuters alike.

Exploring the vast expanse of these waterways on a bike offers a fresh perspective of the United Kingdom’s second city. There’s something quite special about ducking onto a canal towpath away from the hustle and bustle of the streets above. Navigating the ever-changing terrain under your knobby tyres is an exhilarating experience.

Even in the city centre, you can find relative isolation, away from the noise, the crowds and the crawling traffic. The canals offer a sense of tranquility one wouldn’t expect in an urban area. Oftentimes, you’re more likely to encounter geese than humans.

Cycling along the towpaths offers an unparalleled and unique perspective into Birmingham’s industrial past – it may not always provide the quickest route but it’s an infinitely more interesting experience.

Adam Turman | @AdamTurman
I’ve owned a couple of mountain bikes in the past, a Schwinn Moab Disc from the late ’90s that I broke the headtube on, and a GT Tequesta from the early ’90s that I was still riding with an ancient Judy XC fork and bungee cords holding some housing on the bike. Totally ghetto. I also have a Surly Pugsley, which was the bicycle of choice to restart my MTB’ing adventures with my pals Ben McCoy, Andy Gruhn and Phil Velo.

Last summer, we went out to Lebanon Hills, a favorite local spot, for some MTB fun. I took the first lap on my Pugs to get used to how the trails worked with a fat bike and get my MTB skills back in order a bit.

My buddy Phil brought along his wife’s bike for me to “try” out. A Salsa Mamasita that was super dialed in. On the second lap on the Mamasita it hit me just how far the technology of bikes has come in the last 10+ years, compared to what I was used to on my old bikes. Flying up and down hills, hard carving corners, and filling your lungs with air and gasping for more… so much fun– especially the beers at the end.

This past year I got the opportunity to work with the great guys and gals of Salsa Cycles, and loved their bikes so much, I decided to get one. An El Mariachi 2. I don’t really have one favorite mountain biking story of 2012, but rather I have many, because each time I went out last fall was a total blast. Riding with new friends and old, enjoying good times, that’s what it’s all about.

Katy Olson | @Katy_O
I rode five centuries this year. Each was different but taught me something important. The first was in March on a super warm Minnesotan day. A friend joined me ½ way through and we had fun celebrating the warmth. The second was the Almanzo 100, where I confirmed that if you drink tons of water and eat every 20 miles you’ll be OK even through high winds, brutal temps and climbs. The third was during the Powderhorn 24 in Minneapolis, where I raced solo and made it 178 miles. There I learned that I can do super long rides if my mind is in the right place. My fourth was the Gentleman’s Ride – a team redux of the Almanzo. I learned how a good, long, challenging ride can be a meditation journey, a way to inner peace. The final century of 2012 was the Inspiration 100. I learned that if you ride your best and have fun, the results might surprise you. So get out, see your friends, drink lots of water, ride no matter how you feel and your bike will take you to great places; maybe even the podium!

Bonus Jenn Extended Dance Mix #1: Jenn Levo
One of the best things about racing cyclocross is that generally you’re allowed to dress in whatever clothing you’d like. If your outfit doesn’t seem practical for racing, all the better! This is especially true for Oregon’s massive Cross Crusade on Halloween Weekend. My team, Ironclad Performance Wear, decided to dress and race as the most inefficient thing we could think of… CARS!

I had planned to “drive” a silver Subaru Forester (quite ubiquitous in the cyclocross parking lots of the Northwest), which was to be held by bike tube “suspenders” on my shoulders. I put a lot of time into designing the look of the car, but I didn’t spend nearly enough time thinking of how I could ride, let alone “race” my bike while wearing the car costume.

With my teammates dressed as a Honda, a taxi cab and a US Postal Service delivery truck, I self-selected to start the race in the back. I knew my race was going to be difficult, so I didn’t want to take anyone else out as I crashed and burned. A quarter of the way through the first lap I thought I was beginning to get the hang of controlling my car costume, and that’s when I saw it ahead of me…the flyover.

Typically in a cross race, the flyover is a big source of excitement… and it looked like I wasn’t going to disappoint any of Bend, Oregon’s beer garden cross-loving enthusiasts. On a single speed, one needs a fair amount of momentum to get up the steep pitch. While riding my bike as slowly as possible to avoid running over my costume, I definitely didn’t have this much-needed momentum. All of the other racers were well ahead, so the spectators had only me to focus on, as I clumsily dismounted and attempted to climb the steep ramp.

I couldn’t manage to climb the ramp until a rather well-hydrated spectator screamed, “You’re a Subaru! Use your ALL WHEEL DRIVE!!!” Fueled by his encouragement, I eventually crawled my way to the top of the ramp. Once on top, I re-adjusted my costume and remounted my bike, gently riding it to the edge of the down-ramp, the crowd looking on eagerly. As my bike reached the edge of the ramp and started its downward plunge, my car costume dipped forward considerably – allowing for my front wheel to not only “touch” the costume, but to “run over” it. Being tugged forward by my costume, I envisioned the plywood splinters that would soon be in my face. The crowd must have seen the look on my face and realized this potential train wreck, too, as they all reached for their cameras to capture my epic costume failure.

The next few seconds seemed to last forever. Just as expected, my front wheel rolled over my costume. However, instead of flying over my handlebars, my cardboard Subaru tore off, and I was spared the worst of the damage.

While the rest of the race continued on rather uneventfully, I felt a little naked
without my costume. So, I made a point right after the race to retrieve my Subaru from the hillside. However, on my way to the hill, I noticed a small child hop on his bicycle and pedal over to my beleaguered costume. He picked it up, placed it on his shoulders, lumbered over to his bicycle, and hopped on with the same labor and enthusiasm I had shown, pedaling off to a group of his friends. I stood there, a little taken aback some kid had just snatched my costume from right in front of me, but I figured he and his friends were going to get more use out of it than I had in my five minutes of racing. So, I watched him for a little bit and when I felt my costume was in good hands, I headed off towards my home in my real, fully functional all-wheel drive Subaru.

Bonus Jenn Extended Dance Mix #2: Jenn Gallup
So, last summer an old friend of my boyfriend’s, who has become quite a dear friend to me as well, was in town from Chicago. He rides bikes, and when his company sends him here for business meetings, he brings his bike with for the sole purpose of riding around Minneapolis (because it’s fucking awesome.) Anyway, we rode around and zipped through parks, and rode down surprise stairs, and ripped around the dark streets of our fair city for a while and decided to make our destination one that met three criteria: 1. Serves beer and whiskey. 2. Pinball 3. Good jukebox. So, naturally, we went to Grumpy’s downtown.

After a few beers and some celebratory dancing inspired by my resounding pinball victories, I glanced at the time, cussed at its lateness, said my goodbyes, and headed home. They left, off to ride to St. Paul in the middle of the night to do whatever there is to do in St. Paul in the middle of the night. I crossed the Stone Arch into Northeast and made my way, swiftly because I’m fast, to 4th street. As I approached the intersection of 4th street and 6th Ave. NE, I saw a man dressed in a plain ball cap, linen pants, and matching silk shirt monochromatically themed in ivory.

I slowed down, because it’s 2am on a Monday night, mere blocks from my place, and I wanted to see if this guy needed help or was up to something nefarious. Well, before I could really assess what was going on, he spotted me and started waving his arms and walking out into the street to flag me down. I stopped and asked him if he needed my help with something. He pitched forward, losing his balance, regained his composure into a more manageable sway, and started thanking me for stopping in heavily slurred Spanish.

I asked him again, “Do you need help?”

“SI! SI,” he exclaimed. He was swaying as if his hips were attached by rubber bands and his only game plan in the matter of remaining upright was to occasionally pitch his head forward and gesticulate wildly but silently, seeming to emphasize some radical opinion that didn’t quite make it to the “saying it out loud” stage of communication. In other words, he was wasted.

Finally, he was able to make words, but I couldn’t understand him. Not because I don’t understand Spanish, but because the words were destroyed by his drunkenness. Then, a light (albeit, a dim one) went off in his eyes and he reached into his pocket for his wallet. I sigh, and thought, “Huh, I wonder if he thinks I’m a hooker.” Well, no, he just pulled out a small piece of paper with a name and an address on it. The address was about four blocks away. I say, “Do you need to go here?” He nodded emphatically, almost losing the battle with his unwieldy hips. I hopped off my bike, and said, “OKAY, let’s go,” and motioned for him to follow me. Walking my bike briskly on the sidewalk a few paces in front of him, I heckled and teased him to walk faster. We got to the address and I said, giggling, “There you go, princess, safe and sound,” and watched him stumble up to the steps and make his way inside. Suddenly, I heard rustling in a bush about 10 or 15 ft away and out of this bush hopped Scott Seekins dressed all in white. Grasping a sketchbook, he toddled away down the sidewalk on his pointy shoes, ducked into an alley, and with his trademarked air of decorum, disappeared into the night.