CINELLI MASH INTEGRALTER SHIRT Jun 6, 2014 Categories: Cinelli, STORE 0 Comment The Integralter handlebar, in many ways, sums up what initially brought us to work with Cinelli. Unique, progressive designs, coming from an artful place. You can look back through decades of their history, and find inspiration for the next generations. Riding track bikes on the street never needed the most modern technology offered. By scouring bike swap meets, and triathlon classifieds, we could find innovative parts that had been replaced with more modern technologies. The Intergralter was very much celebrated on the street for it’s strikingly bold look, quickly followed up by it’s functionality. Riding a road drop on the street makes a lot of sense. This bar offered a comfortable flat top, short reach, and an ergo drop, allowing several positions for riders climbing, sprinting, or cruising the city. The packaging included a very crude xerox of the cable routing, and was a treasure found included in old stock pairs. We wanted to celebrate this bar with Cinelli, and take it with us in our day. A shirt is a perfect way to remember this piece of art.
284 SANCHEZ STREET DETAILS May 26, 2014 Categories: Photo 0 Comment We had a busy April/May getting our shop moved into a new location around the corner from our original spot on 14th Street. We are still settling in, but wanted to share a few wide-format details from our new hangout. Come though and say hello! We will get the Tuesday AM rides ramped back up after riders get back from CMWC in Mexico this weekend.
CHAS ON SUTRO May 26, 2014 Categories: Photo 0 Comment Before opening the new shop, I wanted to get out and shoot a pair of images that shared compositions, street and dirt, and an iconic SF landmark. We made two 100-inch prints to welcome our guests. Check them out when you visit the shop!
NEW IN THE SHOP May 16, 2014 Categories: STORE 0 Comment We have tons of new items in our shop, and adding more this week. Check in!
FRIDAY May 6, 2014 Categories: News, Photo, STORE 0 Comment Join us this Friday evening as we close out our original shop location, with a group show featuring all the athletes and friends that make MASH possible. See you soon!
Chas at Fijate 2014 Apr 27, 2014 Categories: criterium 0 Comment Federico was down in San Juan for the Fijate events, and sent a few photos of Chas racing. Looks like they had a big draw this year, with racers coming in from around the world. Racer acclimation can play a big role in performance, so it was exciting to see racers smashing in the heat and humidity of a tropical region. Check the Fijate facebook page for more info.
RHC 1 2014 RACE REPORT FROM WALTON BRUSH Apr 8, 2014 Categories: Redhook Crit 0 Comment In 2009, I crashed a couple times in the rain on a notorious descent in the Bay Area. To this day I have a mental block about cornering in wet conditions. This January, at Cyclocross Nationals, Evan Murphy (NYC Velo p/b The Cannibal) gave me a breakdown of how to keep racing positive. Evan explained that even when dropped from a road race he’s still pumped to be riding the course, or even though we’re in Colorado racing CX Nationals semi-serious, we’re still having a blast shredding the course. Anyway, Mike of MASH SF flew our team to the entire RHC series last year. We’ve had awesome support for an awesome team. But, while we were proud to podium every race in Brooklyn, we’ve never won. Having never won has personally pressured me. Along with the growing level of media coverage that surrounds the event. Weather predictions—cold, wind, rain—a week before the event really made it hard to think positively. Furthermore, add brakeless track bikes, an overly aggressive field, and a course with tough corners and I was really fearing injury and the possibility of ruining this entire race season. Frankly, I didn’t really want to start but felt immense pressure not only to do so, but to perform. 250 racers were attempting to qualify for 80 positions in the main race with their fastest timed lap, which also sets the start grid. With no warm up, I went with a large group on the first lap of our group’s qualifying heat. I stayed at the back and went about 50%. This effort put me eighth on the grid. This was quickly bumped down to 22nd. A couple laps later, four of us went all-out on another lap. We had it dialed and I went so hard I expected to be top five, but the wind had picked up so much that the new lap times didn’t even match my first effort. At this point I was taxed, fighting off vomit and the cold, so I packed it in to go warm up inside before the main race. Because of the inclement weather, the men’s race was moved ahead a few hours and shortened to under 30 minutes, while the women’s race was neutralized due to an ambulance on course after a serious crash. I was disappointed that I was starting third row, because if something happened in the beginning of the race (a crash, field split, missed break, or a mental freakout while navigating the crazed wet pack) I would have let the team down. Luckily, I quickly made it up to the top eight. Kyle and I put in some attacks in the middle of the race, but no one came across, so they were chased back. I was stoked to win the mid-race prime and then we were in the last few laps of the race. Two riders were in a breakaway and Neil Bezdek was sitting second wheel in the chase. He didn’t let anyone rotate through or rotate off. The breakaway didn’t have much of a gap, though it was all they needed. Going into the bell lap, Kyle got on the front and drilled it. I was sitting third wheel and, as we planned, I attacked into a sheltered straight to get a gap before heading into the final “windy” straight-hairpin-straight. Our team didn’t want to sprint against Neil, Evan, or Mario, so we wanted to go early. Coming into the windy section, I realized that the wind had died down. I kept going 100% but got swarmed at the hairpin, effectively leading out the sprint. On my way to the line, I got passed by four and, with two racers off the front, I took seventh. Far from the podium and far from first. At “team brunch,” which my sister hosted the following morning, I realized that this RHC weekend was the best yet. It is easy to get distracted by stressing over performance and results, overlooking the original goal of the Red Hook series. It is a blast to go out there and crush it with teammates and local and international racers that this series has provided me the opportunity to meet. Walton Brush