VIA

Riding rollers isn’t new by any means.  It’s been a training tool and used for competition and amusement (roller racing) for many years.  The wooden drums of old have been put by the wayside, making room for steel, then the alloy and poly drums of today.

I have never had the opportunity to ride old wooden rollers.  I’m sure I wouldn’t be eager to get rid of my Kreitler 4.5 Alloy rollers if I did- but I appreciate history and would enjoy the experience.  I found a few little snippets of rollers of old- a photo of some women in a 4 person roller race (though it looks like it may have been a photo opp or movie still)- and a tutorial on how to ride rollers for your first time.

Not only is it beard and stache fest- the beard and stache dash goes down on Saturday!

As you well know by now- It’s Beard & Stache month. So we are bringing it to our Penny Farthing Fridays as well:

Frances “Fannie” Benjamin Johnston (15 January 1864–16 May 1952) was one of the earliest American female photographers and photojournalists. In this self portrait, taken in 1890, she is dressed in men’s cycling attire, with a mustache.

Also a bonus post that as Greghxc mentioned, is a perfect combination of me and my lady. Take a ride on the “Kitty Farthing”

Robin sent this along to me- it’s really wonderful.  These are some fixed gear tricks I actually like the look of.

I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina for a bit, and visited Durham one time to go to a flea market. I was hit by a logging truck riding my bike. No helmet. Hit the ground at 30mph. Ripped my clothes off my body. It wasn’t pretty. No trip to the doctor, and the jerk that illegally passed me got off with not even a ticket. Instead, I was told that I should find a different route to ride.

On a lighter note, I found this edit made up of footage from Durham in the 30’s and 40’s. I really like the kid doing the wheelie at 1:10.

I love vintage bike films, even safety videos like this.  There are some pretty sweet rhymes on this one.