MISSION CRIT IV 2017

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April 22nd 2017: The Mission Crit was born in a parking lot 4 years ago, and by it’s second year, it grew into the streets of San Francisco. It is common these types of events are on the outskirts of town in some industrial complex but Mission Crit is different.  In the heart of the city, on traditionally busy streets, the barriers go up at noon, and racers are qualifying within a few hours on the streets we commute on daily. The vibe is very grass roots, with no alpha sponsor logos pasted everywhere, but instead a grocery store from the neighborhood printed on a  small banner. The event takes place the weekend before the New York Red Hook Crit event, giving racers a chance to get a solid practice in before the start of the international series. Enclosed is a set of photos and notes from the night of qualifying, and racing for the men and women, and a cargo bike event in the mix.

Crit racing lends itself to be spectator friendly, with short lap times, fans can scream at their friends constantly.This is the first year we are seeing more live streaming feeds on social media.Course changes for 2017 brought a ton of excitement to qualifying and the main races.

James is the race organizer, and has done an incredible job keeping a grass roots feeling to the event, while still drawing a good size crowd in the middle of the city. Eddy qualifying for the men’s main raceWe see this contrast every day here and hope that each community can help one another thrive as much as the cycling one has.Sam moved here from Portland five months ago. He works at the shop, leads the Tuesday morning rides, and we are happy to see him suit up for his first fixed criterium. He qualified for the main event, and was really stoked to rub shoulders with some very fast racers out there.Marc Marino can help you fix your kits, just hit him up.Chas qualified with the lead group. 2017 is his 7th year racing the Red Hook Crit series, and is excited for New York this weekend.Having a grocery on the race course was convenient for both racers, and spectators.There are to motocycles on course during the races. The first leads the front of the group, and the second one signals racers at the back of the field to exit the race course as they are about to be lapped by the field.Sean raced with the B group, then jumped on a TCB cargo bike, to race back to back heats.Dylan putting in an aggressive qualifying lap to go on to the men’s final.A parking garage is converted to racer staging, and is steps away from the start. On a cool windy evening it made for a perfect spot to sit on rollers before the race.The race is annually held in the Mission neighborhood in the center of the city. The radio tower acts as weather gauge when the fog rolls in for the evening.Dylan is designing for Specialized, and had the opportunity to create the graphics on bikes for their fixed crit team. Look for more images as we roll into Red Hook.SameAddison Zawada was a marked man for this race as he held the #1 spot from last year. He loved the course changes this year, including the descent into the chicane.Sean with a winning smile as he finishes the cargo race.Always love seeing Nick’s Giant TCR Health Net Team bike at events.Jo Selso is a veteran to this race format, and it showed as she finished with a solo win on this night.Coming from the film era, I see modern camera sensors as a superpower of sorts, in that they can see in the dark. It is tricky to shoot these night races with strobes. The racers eyes are dilated for the dark, so when they are railing into a corner, and get pounded by flash, it is harsh on the racers. For these reasons, I love shooting these events with natural light, and sharing these grainy moments as a fly on the wall.The light of the moto pace vehicle makes the crowd roar, as they know the mens final race is on course.Fifty racers qualified to the main event, and the field was FAST. It took spectators a couple laps to adjust to the race tempo. The field was quickly split with two lead groups, and a large chase group.Chas worked with the chase group helping drive the pace, but could not bridge up. He finished 7th for the night.Cesar Valenzuela surprised the lead group, by attacking and chasing down a few breaks before taking his own go. His break stuck, and took home the win on this night.Colin Strickland won 3 of the 4 Red Hook Crits last year, and lead the attacks in an attempt to shut down Cesar, but did not have what it took to bridge the gap.

1 and 2Thank you to James and The Mission Crit. Thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers. We are grateful this event happens here in the city, and look forward to chapter V.

Mike Martin

CHAS CHRISTIANSEN

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Over the past year we have shared a video chapter or two each month, bringing us to the final chapter in the feature release, Chas Christiansen.  Over the years we would get out and shoot with him a ton – with friends, solo sessions, and location concepts. When it came time to cut a part for him we knew it would be really strong, and his expectations pushed Martin and I to document just how fun/intense it can be to ride the streets with this guy. Every time we got out, it felt like a collaboration between this floating camera and the rider  seemed to glide through the city effortlessly. The Ender. Enclosed is his full video part, as well as an interview we shot with him a few years back, while on standby in the Mission.

MASH X SCVDO

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I’ve always been a fan of street races as well as outlaw cross races, so last year when Vito and Stephano from SCVDO Genova invited me to the 1st iteration of their race RESPUBLICA I jumped the chance. I was not disappointed as the route ripped you through downtown Genova then up through the hills on some sketchy dirt single track, back down to the city center then back out to the dirt! A ripping race thrown by a rad crew SCVDO RESPUBLICA is a great format that I hope I see more of in years to come! This year they road their fully loaded tracks bikes UP from LA to SF! Once they got here and recovered a bit I was stoked to show them my SF just like they showed me their favorite parts of Genoa. We spent a rad day ripping around, drinking tons of espresso and getting loose! Long Live Brakeless Mixed Terrain Alley Cats!
– Chas

Monster Track 2016

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In a few days hundreds of racers will converge on the streets of Manhattan to once again battle it out for the glory that is a Monstertrack Win. Monster Track is the Epitome of an Alley Cat. Brakeless Trackbikes only make this race the real deal. One race to rule them all if you will. It’s got style. It’s got History. It pits you against the Jungle of a city, some of the quickest witted street racers in the world, and all of the drama that comes along with that. People get their feelings hurt. People Get lost. People Quit. And some of the fastest few will make it to the last manifest. But regardless of win or lose everyone will have a damn good time. So to tide you over until the chaos ensues once more – Here’s a few photos from Last years race and surrounding events. -Sean

Brice

Stoked Johnny & Hiromi

King Kog

Registration Party

Party Boiz

Nico Jammin’ out the Karaoke

Cooper’s Zine release @ Deluxe Cycles

PEZ

Willow

BLACK LABEL BIKE CLUB

The Ace Bar

Pre-race jitters @ the Ace

OG’s

The line for Registration @ Tompkins Sq Park

The Colombos

Podium
1st – 2nd – 3rd – 4th

shut up n roll

WTF podium announcement

WTF Podium hype

all the way from Barcelona!

a few words from Brandon Lockfoot and a Moment of silence for BMX Dave

5th place Goat trackbike prize

Victor announcing men’s podium and awarding chris with the winners challace

Re-Load Prize Bag

Chas Christiansen and Matt Reyes

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A few weeks back, we brought Matt and Chas out to the green hills to shoot a new video. While Martin is chopping down hours of selects, we thought it would be fun to share a clip on Matt’s Birthday. Happy Birthday Shredder!

RAINIER SCHAEFER

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When you visit with Rainier, the emits a sense of calm. He is thoughtful, and does not speak to fill in the gaps of silence. Watching him on the bike you can see those moments of peace, but it is the power he puts down on the pedals that motivates us to this day. We have traveled the world together racing bikes, but going to Yosemite to shoot him descending Tioga Pass is something we will never forget. He was truly in his element there and our cameras witnessed it first hand. Take a moment to also watch him share how he fell in love with the track bike, as he prepares his meals for the week.

MASH FOR JANDD

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Jandd is a timeless outdoor brand based In San Diego. For decades, they have produced intelligent bags that are designed to last. We have admired them forever and feel lucky to be able to collaborate with them for the first time. The first piece we designed is a new bag for Jandd and MASH. The bike travel bag. Available in Black, Navy, or Olive. (shown)

After years of flying with bikes, we have evolved the bike travel bag in a direction that fits us. The goal was to create a bag small enough to avoid oversize bag fees at the airport, to be light weight, and for your bike and components to stay protected. The bag is lined with a thin lightweight padding to protect the bike on all sides.  This is the bag we have wanted for a decade, and we feel lucky to have created it with a historic outdoor brand like Jandd. It will fit most all sizes of road, cyclocross, and urban bikes. Not ideal for touring or mtb bikes.

 The bag size is: 32 X 26 X 7inBackpack straps tuck away completely so they do not get hung up when flying. A shoulder strap and top handle allow for several carrying positions through the airport or train station.The inside walls of the bag host offset wheel compartments with reinforced liners to protect from axles pushing through. There are also 2 large pockets inside to carry large and small components. We had fun creating a new multi-color theme for the Jandd X-Small hip pack. It fits enough of the essentials for a long day on the trails. They have 1.5″ waist belts, dual zipper heads on a storm-flapped, heavy-duty zipper, and a flat storage pocket on top. Time-tested banana shape that started the fanny pack phenomenon almost two decades ago.

Volume: 161 ci/ 2.6 ltr

Weight: 6.4 oz/ 180 g
Dimensions: 3.5 x 12 x 3.5 (in)
9 x 30 x 9 (cm)
Material: Dupont Cordura

Also works as a small sling bag, for a camera, phone, bottle, etc. 

The Jandd Small Saddle Bag is lean and light enough while still capable of stuffing a large tube, tool, and a snack. The multi-panel bag is Gray-Navy-Black, with a vertical zipper, and reflective trim.

Reflective finishing tape adds an added level of saftey on early mornings and late nights out. All three bags are available in our shop and on our site. Check in!

MASH X BOREAS 2017

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2017 brings new collaborations with local bag maker Boreas. We have 3 new designs, including updated features on the 50L race day bag. This bag has proven itself over the past four years, quickly becoming the go to travel bag for the team. This season we added a roll-out changing matte to the shape. The coated nylon matte is connected inside a sealed pouch inside the bag, and offers a clean dry place for your feet as you change clothes. The race day bag, and 2 additional designs are available in our shop, and at on our site today.

2017

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As MASH moves into the new year of 2017, it is with great affection that we announce the end of our collaboration with Cinelli and the exciting start of our own independently produced designs.
Our respect for Cinelli began long before the first MASH video appeared in 2005, and it quickly evolved into a friendship. Over the years, we learned the culture and creative force of this historic bicycle brand in depth, especially as MASH began to design frames from our home in San Francisco with our new Cinelli family in Milan. This collaboration lasted for an incredible 7 years, and we are grateful to have had this solid foundation as we move on to our next adventure.
We are excited to continue to produce in the cycling community independently as MASH. This freedom will bring new flexibilities, and our goal is to make the best designs we can dream. MASH has always been about collaborating with our friends here in San Francisco, and it’s time that we continue to feed this ethos. These new pieces will be available later in the year. We’ll be sure to keep all of you updated as we have news to share.
Additionally, with this change, Cinelli will no longer produce any MASH collabration products, but shops will still be able to purchase remaining stock from the distributors through 2017.
So, with a full heart for our Cinelli family, we’re psyched to take this leap into 2017 with all of you!

MATT REYES

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As we launch into 2017, let’s do it with the energy and control of Matt Reyes. Matt is a Bay Area icon. As a local, you will see him lane split you in the car while manualing down Oak, or some other risky/fun line while commuting through San Francisco. Matt has released endless edits over the years, and Martin and I knew we could make something special together. This part was shot over 2 sessions. Albatross bars day, and rack bars day. I had just gotten back from Berlin, where Mo at Keirin traded me a circus bike. This was an early trick bike, and the first style of bikes to ever use pegs. Matt wanted to ride it. We put air in the rotten tubulars, and he was out the door. Within a couple minutes, he was bombing Sanchez Street from the top, on a tiny peg, of a shaking artistic cycling bike, that had never seen the top speed it was engulfed in. The last this we shot was the burning man decompression party. This city is always in a state of flux, and Matt is always down to see it in the moment, and create with the city we love. Enjoy!