Birmingham, Bike Polo Shuffle Tourney

25 girls from 7 cities all over the UK gathered in Highgate Park, Birmingham for a one day  turney.
The tournament started as a shuffle tournament, and then placed players in fixed teams with the purpose to keep teams at equal levels, for  knock-out rounds (the losing team stayed out, the winning team continued). Games were ten or twelve minutes long and score draws were dealt with a golden goal to determine the winners. 

I was lucky enough to be placed in a team with Jo (one of Cambridge's finest player) who was the tournament's top scorer. She had the aura of a top player: excellent ball control, smooth bike manoeuvring, strong shots at all angles; all these blended with a calm, no-need-to-show-off personality and a sweet encouraging positivity that a typically older sister has.

My other team mate, was London's Aleksandra who i have got to know the past year; she brought to the table youthful enthousiasm and spirit and some tough battles against our opponents. Our team, Destiny's Wild reached 3rd position after losing (the golden goal) and staying out from the finals. I will be honest with you; i was gutted especially because our best player had to change bikes halfway, so i was left with the thoughts of "if she had her own bike maybe the golden goal would have been hers". But in sports there are no "ifs", especially as this whole tournament had an element of fate and luck. Despite the result, it was my favourite team. (sending big-ups to Jo and Alex!)

The winning team "Rubbish with Names" (but obviously pretty good with bike polo) , indeed, deserved the win; the team which was Leah (Bristol), Sylwia (Manchester) and Ana (London) worked hard for it with good passes and a focus in a game that was played at the opponents goals the most.

i chatted with Leah (Bristol) briefly during the tournament, who admitted comptetitiveness and having only one thought: winning. Manchester's Sylwia, had a much more relaxed style, encouraging all players, radiating posisitvity and at the same time focusing in her own game. Sylwia's skills and positive nature in the polo world seemed to be also recognised from others and went on to win Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tourney.

I joked with Sylwia, as she was a playful, fun character during our trip to Birmingham via our facebook pages, and asked her "How do you feel being once again the Most Valuable Party-monster and champion of the polo queens?" her reply brought to the surface her sportspersonship:

"on a serious note.. I feel proud to have had such a great team! Ana Sanches phenomenal in the goal and on the court! Making great decisions in a split second! You got that something gir! Leah was a pure badass on the court! Tackling like a pro, not letting go for a moment! Love your spirit girl! Keep it up! Oh and that chin shot!! It was pure pleasure to play with you gals and I hope there will be more tournaments to come where I get to do so again!" 

On our train journey back to London, I pretended to be interviewing Ana with an imaginary microphone and asked how she felt being a champion; Ana was slightly less chatty about the win and simply said that she felt "tired". Knowing her quite well it was obviously true that she was tired but also her answer seemed to be a way of avoiding attention, being modest and lets face it, she probably knew that i was going to quote her on this blog; she kept her reply minimal. During the games she had a focus and determination that i had never seen before in her.  More inline with her usual self, she was the first to open and share the bottle of prosecco for the celebrations.

There were 25 players worth a mention: 

1- Mya (bhm): strong, fast and fearless AND fierce too! A hard worker when it comes to the polo community
2- Kat (bhm): excellent hostess and the driving force of the tourney! Thanks!
3- Viki (bhm): had the most yellow stripes on her mallet, meaning pure wins during the shuffle tourney
4- Alice (bhm):another new player from Birmingham; promising and ready to take you on!
5- Irial (bhm): fresh moves, quiet and focused
6- Fuchsia (Lndn): must say she had the best goal celebrations ever
7- Nik (Lndn): one of the best players, in my opinion, and most fun person in the polo world
8- Sylwia (mcr): MVP MVP MVP!
9- Zsófia (bristol): strong player and tiredless organiser, natural coach
10- Ana (Lndn): blood in her eyes, prosecco on her lips
11- Io (Lndn): that's me; aspiring sandbagger.
12- Peixe (Lndn): all the way from Sao Paulo! que legal! Beleza!
13- Ali (Cambo): Ali is awesome! best facial expressions on achievements! experienced and talented player.
14- Jo (Cambo): Jo, such a great team mate!one of the best players!
15 - Rita (Sheffield): she can take you down; she can speed up and get you.
16 - Jackie (Lndn): fearless. She will take you down.
17- Aleks (Lndn): ball control, positioning - she is the one!
18 - Lizzy (Glasgee):  strong and committed!
19-  Josie (Brtn): Agile and smooth; strong shots, be warned!
20 - Maddie (Lndn): experienced player, experienced heckler
21 - Tabs (brs): another awesome player from Bristol; share the secrets!
22 - Leah (brs): she had one thing is her head; to win; and she did.
23- Violeta (Lndn): pure skill, dynamite shots.
24. Lilly (Mcr): who received just praise from Nik for stepping it up
25. Rosie: the new promising leftie

Big-ups to Phil from London, coming all the way with chilled beer to support the tourney, and ofcourse to the Birmingham boys for reffing and helping with organising.

Micro-pigs (ask Sylwia why!) Pic adapted by Luiza Peixe

 

Bike Polo Tournament, Birmingham, Sunday 14th September

Girls only bike polo tournament

Format
Shuffle tournament with tape. 

 Number of rounds tbc based on number of players.

Travel

Those coming from the south, London Midland and Chiltern have cheap off-peak returns and are good for bikes.

"We're hoping to encourage lots of new female players, so please bring anyone with you who'd like to have a go. We can provide some mallets and other equipment if needed.

Guys are welcome too, but girls only on court!"

From Kat & Mya

London Open Bike Polo Tourney

London Open bike tourney 16th and 17th August 

34 teams with  poloistas from the USA, Australia, Japan, France and of course UK
Three large courts in Highbury Fields
Party by the canal in east london on saturday
Good times

Want to see some awesome pics from the London Open? 
by Paul Kubalek here and 
by Will Melling here on his Flickr

Wild West Polo Tourney - London

15th September 2012: Westway Sports Centre, London

On a sunny day, you can get me to agree to anything. Even entrering a bike polo tourney. I have no trophy to prove my participation, but, i do have 3 left knee bruises, shower-resistant arm-length bike dirt and a humongous deep purple lower rib bruise which is a reminder why handlebars should be plugged (if there weren't plugged i would be now, possibly, resembling a kebab).

Our team "What Were We Thinking" sucked. We finished at a joint 14th (out of 16th). But had a blast ( a colorful purple bast) that i am sure we will remember with a smile - watch this space - we will be back. Faster, Harder, Stronger. (cos it's impossibly to be slower, softer, weaker ;) )

 

Mouldy Kitchen Vs Jean-Claude God Damn

Congratulations to "Party Illuminati" from Newmarket, who won, "Jean-Claude God Damn" from Manchester, in second (who had an incredible 39 goals in 7 games, only letting in 4), and  in joint third, "SoYoPoLoCo" from Sheffield and "We All Play Synth", from Twickenham Cycling Club! Well done, and big congratulations to the organisers and to the likes of us who dared! 

"ouch" souvenir from the Mountain Goats

Tour de Phizz 2012 A celebration of cycling (Dublin)

flyer by Karen Bobaron

A hidden bar, packed with a bouncy crowd of punksters, small enough for the barman to know that my vague gesture was after a shot of Jagermeister; big enough to have one hell of a party! This sums up the music night set up to raise  funds for Tour de Phizz, "an exhibition curated by a team of artists who create artwork  interventions and DIY events dealing with the themes of cycling advocacy and social inclusion."

Read more: http://www.tourdephizz2012.com/

The night was held at the Bohemian Football Club Bar in Dalymount Park, Dublin 7 Dublin, Ireland on 1st September 2012

Music provided by:

Total Winners
Complan
Ghost Trap
DJ Fuxy
Notorious J.A.K

And there was a raffle too! i won nothing but had fun, so yeah indirectly a win, win situation!  

raffle winner gets a bike!

The Deadly Nightshades: Fabric Bike

FABRIC BIKE Trailer from The Deadly Nightshades on Vimeo.

The Deadly Nightshades is a Canadian all-girl midnight bike gang who also encourage ethical and sustainable design; they created a bicycle  out of unconventional materials and filmed this 3 month project - their film is likely to be shown at this year's bicycle film festival! Check them out at http://nightshadesbikecrew.blogspot.com/ 

Removing (and destroying a freewheel)

Often freewheels on cheap mass-manufactured bicycles do not have notches and so do not allow a freewheel removal tool to engage. It is still possible to get the freewheel off. Doing so will, however, will destroy the freewheel in the process.

You will need:

A hammer!

A screw driver

A big wrench / fixed gear lockring wrench 

Tip! electrical tape as temporary rim tape

  

If the inner part of the rim where the inner tube fits has spoke holes (like in the first photo), they must be covered by a rim tape (photo 2), usually rubber, cloth, or tough plastic, to protect the inner tube. Otherwise it may puncture. You probably already knew that; the tip is that if you don't have rim tape then a good solution is to use electrical tape (photo 3). Use around 3 layers and it should do you a good job.

 applying electrical tape

Fix Me Up!

So i decided to put a 17t track (fixed) cog on my bike.

Cog sizes are measured by how many teeth they have: obviously the bigger it is the more teeth. And the bigger it is the easier it is to ride (but the quicker you have to pedal to gain speed, like when you are on a easy gear on a geared bike).

I have a 42t chain ring which means in combination with a 17t cog the gear inches are just below 70; in other words , a relatively easier gear than my singlespeed set up of 42-16t, less knee pains and hopefully more chances of controlling the beast with my weak legs! Here is a handy fixed gear cycling calculator in case you want to calculate your fixie / single speed set up...

...and below my cheesy video installing the fixie cog!

PARTS NEEDED:

- 17t cog (i chose the Halo one)
- a lockring to secure a track cog on a track hub.
- fixed hub (already on my wheel)

TOOLS NEEDED:

- Combined Chain Whip and Lockring Tool (bought from VeloSolo) to tighten the cog and lockring
- wrench (to take off the wheel)

Critical Mass 25th June 2010, London

People and their bicycles gathered at Southbank for critical mass; lovely warm afternoon, the occassional cheer and whistle adding to the anticipation of a friendly ride.

The ride headed north over Waterloo bridge, through The  strand, and  passed by Parliament square to wave to the people at the Democracy Village: the atmosphere was positive and buzzing as the cyclists cheered the campers on who  are still there after 2 months; the campers returned the cheers and the critical mass headed to visit Buckingham palace waving to the Queen.

During critical mass, some aggressive taxi drivers screamed and rammed at cyclists going by, despite critical mass being simply some people on bicycles...


Things went stressful, when police vans surrounded the mass just by Herbal Hill; seconds before they arrived, a police van dropped a policeman who started running through the cyclists- when the police man ran out of stamina, he stopped and within seconds the 30 vans appeared.  No one was hurt during that.

I had a brief conversation with one of the policemen:
Me: What happened? what's all this about?
PM (policeman): When one of our men is in danger we come out.
Me: who's in danger what happened?
PM: well, if one of us is hurt we come out.
Me: one of you got hurt? how?
PM: [no reply]
Me: well i hope your friend is OK
PM: thanks have a good weekend
Me: Have a good weekend too
At this time a young man added: What happened is, a cyclist got hit by a taxi driver but of course the police is letting the taxi driver off and is after the cyclist.

The police stayed surrounding the mass for some time, and the road was blocked. They then asked the cyclists to start riding again and the mass ended up at The Foundry  which is being squatted after the council closed it  to make way for a brand new “art hotel”.

 REPORTS ON JUNE'S CRITICAL MASS:
"One arrest with loads of cops and several drivers trying to physically intimidate corkers by nosing into them with horns blazing. "

"drivers deliberately ramming cyclists. I saw one woman cyclist knocked to the ground by a taxi. but the police don't seem at all interested in such things."

More pics here .

DIY: How to Cut Handlebars

So here is the simplest way to cut your handlebars shorter; all you need is a G Clamp and pipe cutters (with the cutters you need to have a blade that cuts metal not just plastic). I must say it is really easy to cut handlebars and pretty tidy too. No muscle strength needed and took me just 5 minutes! (and the practice drum pad featuring in the 3rd photo is optional, although it did help to clamp the bar without sliding!)

To put the grips on you will need some hairspray: it helps them slide on  the bars and once that happens, it sticks them nicely. The other thing to do is to make a little hole on one of grips so no air is trapped  in the hollow bit of the bars (if there is no hole then the air pressure makes the grips move which is a hassle when you ride)

DIY: Chop & Flop

Drop handlebars are a bit of a nightmare for me when it comes to riding in central London; and the old single piece quill stem is a barrier when it comes to putting bullhorns, simply because they don't fit through as you can't open them fully. So the way to do it cheaply is to cut off the drop downs and simply flip them over! So here are the photos of the drop downs turned into bullhorns, and leaving the same brake levers (to cut costs!)

Your local bike shop could cut the bars for a couple of pounds or a fiver if it's a fancy shop!