Bolllywood Bikini Baby

raan movie image

Katrina Kaif Back in a Bikini For 'Dostana 2'

After showing off her assets in her debut movie "Boom," sexy Katrina Kaif will return to the big screen in a banging bikini for her upcoming project "Dostana 2."

Replacing Priyanka Chopra, who shot a few sexy beach scenes herself in "Dostana" with John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan.

This will be the second time Katz dons a two-piece for a movie, and we bet fans can't wait!

Popular celeb designer Manish Malhotra been chosen to create the hot beachwear so we expect something classy yet sexy.

We are not sure what Katrina's boyfriend, B-town bad boy Salman Khan, has to say about all.

This though; during a recent interview he told reporters that he likes girls 'covered up.' Well it looks like Katrina disagrees!

And so do probably all of her of fans! Do you think Katrina Kaif will look hot in a bikini in "Dostana 2?" Share your thoughts.

Oscar winning A R Rahman to attend Grammy awards

Double Oscar winning musician A R Rahman on Saturday left for the US to attend the Grammy awards function, where he has been nominated for the 'Slumdog Millionaire score.

The 44-year-old music maestro has been nominated in Best Song Written For Motion Picture for 'Jai Ho' and for Best Compilation Soundtrack for the film.

Rahman left for London early this morning by an Emirates flight alongwith his wife and son, airport sources said.

He is expected to leave for Los Angeles from there.

The composer has already picked a Golden Globe trophy and two Academy award, a first for any Indian for 'Jai Ho'.

If Rahman wins, it will be his first Grammy award, which are considered the Oscar in music.

The the Grammy award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles this Sunday. Apart from Rahman, two other musicians who are vying for the award are Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Tabla player Zakir Hussain.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been nominated in the best traditional world music
category for "Ancient Sounds" made in collaboration with Iraqi Oud Soloist Rahim Alhaj while Zakir has been nominated in the Best Classical Crossover album category for the album 'The Melody of Rhythm'.

WOD

For time:
50 40kg Thrusters.
At the start do 5 burpees and then 5 burpees at the start of each
minute until you complete the 50 thrusters.

Post time to comments

Hello, Proto.

Yesterday was an exciting day here at Velocity, some of you might have seen a little of this on our Twitter. Some of you have already gotten your hands on the A23 rim and know what all the buzz is about with having a wider rim on the road.

For those of you who haven't heard: The A23 is the continuation of our belief in developing and producing wheels and rims that are the best to ride with. Using aspects of our Aerohead rim, the A23 was developed to improve ride quality, cornering and aerodynamics without sacrificing weight, stiffness or durability. Coming in at 428 grams and 3 mm wider than the Aerohead, the A23 exceeded those expectations.

Although the 20mm rim has often been the bench mark for road rim width, the 23mm wide rim partnered with a 23mm tire provides a profile similar to a tubular set-up without the hassle of glue or the risk of punctures. This partnership between tire and rim allows for the plain between the two to be virtually the same, greatly reducing drag compared to a tire on a 20mm rim. With the wider rim providing the ride quality of a tubular with a clincher tire, there is less rolling resistance. The 23mm width allows for more flexibility in tire pressure depending on conditions and course, cornering is also vastly improved, especially at high speeds, because of the tires ability to maintain shape instead of slightly rolling with a narrower rim.

Part of the excitement from yesterday, was that we have been working for months to develop and produce a hub that when partnered together with the A23 rim would make this a combination the provides the ride quality you have come to expect from Velocity, and also pushes the envelope in price/weight ratio without sacrificing stiffness.

Enter, the A23 hub. We received the first proto-types and have begun to lace them up to get some real ride time and send them out to our trusted specialists for testing. You might have noticed that we are not offering the A23 rim in an offset. The reason for this, is that in partnering the A23 rim and hub together, the offset flanges of the hub allow for a better build with even tension on both drive and non-drive side. This even tension allows for a symmetric wheel that is stronger and stiffer than a rim laced to a 'traditional' flanged hub. Along with even tension, having a larger drive-side flange means shorter drive spokes which then correlates to more rotational stiffness. In layman terms, when you want to get up and go, the wheel will go.

After all of the prototype testing is finished, the A23 wheel set will be available Spring of 2010. Coming in at around 1400 grams a set and at a price point that is definitely going to blow your socks off, we are confident that it will be the best in it's class.

The Kipping Pull Up

I spent a bit of time working with G on his kip and he is not far away! A growing number of you are starting to make huge strides with your kipping pull ups. I know a few of the girls (Kelly & Donielle)are determined to get there to. This is a good video (recognise the progressions?!!) to show you as you can see a woman who is not one of the elite CrossFit women performing the kip. YOU WILL GET THERE!!

For Time:
Handstand Push Up 1-10 / Back Squat 10-1

Post time to comments

Tired and restless

Around 4 pm yesterday, I found myself increasingly nervous and anxious. By 6 pm, I wanted to leave work and get home as quickly as possible; once home, I ate my dinner and gulped down a glass of wine in record time. When I settled in at 9 pm to watch the State of the Union address, I had a difficult time concentrating and instead prepared for bed at around 9:45 pm. By 10:20 pm, I was under the covers while Barack Obama's voice boomed in from the other room; at 10:30 or so, I finally asked Zdenek to turn off the television so that I could go to sleep. I think I was zonked out by 11 pm, but then I awoke several times during the night and had difficulty falling back to sleep. When my pre-programmed coffee machine started brewing at 5:45 am, I had already been awake for 15 minutes or more.

My heightened state of anxiety yesterday wasn't just because I was feeling crummy (though I was) or wanted to get an extra hour of sleep (though I did). I was nervous because of what lay in store for me this morning. I was stressing over the fact that I've been teetering on the edge of a full-blown illness all week long and that every night I've only added to my accumulated sleep deficit. I was doubtful that I would be able to concentrate and find sufficient energy to perform well this morning. But I wasn't facing a test, an important meeting, or even a job interview today. Rather, I was up against a scheduled tempo run that called for a sustained, hard effort, and I wasn't certain that I would be up to the task. I was worried that this run would feel terrible, and in turn would make me feel terrible, and that it would forever leave a black mark in my training log.

I recognize that this probably sounds silly to anyone who might read this (does anyone actually read this?) -- I feel silly even writing it! I know that I'm not competing for anything (now or in the future) and that I'm so far away from the ranks of even the semi-elite that I should just be happy that I can even train for a marathon at all. But when Zdenek and I headed out the door this morning, I told him that I had been dreading this run all week (to my annoyance, he casually replied that he hadn't even given it a moment's thought until then). I was still doubtful that I could rally enough energy and focus to meet the prescribed pace and distance laid out for me in my training plan, at least not without overshooting my target heart rate by five or more beats per minute.

Happily, when all was "said and run" today, I had a fantastic tempo. My pace was a full ten seconds per mile faster than planned, and my heart rate was bang on. I worked hard but felt strong. Even better, it was a bit snowy and wintry, which made it all the more interesting. In retrospect, I should never have worried about this run at all, and I certainly shouldn't have stressed unnecessarily about it for the twelve hours prior. I should have gone to sleep looking forward to a good night's rest, and left it at that. And even if the run had gone poorly -- even if had gone extraordinarily poorly -- would that have been such a big deal? In the grand scheme of things, no, but it would have left me dreading next week's tempo even more than I surely will. Stress can be a good motivator, but I'm thankful I have at least a few more days before anxiety kicks in again (and even more thankful that tomorrow is a rest day).

WOD

"Open Gym"

Practice some skills that you want to improve. I will try to get around everyone to give them specific help and feedback.

OR

Make up a workout you have missed this week.

Post skill / choice of workout to comments.

because Ryan rides.

A little busy here today, so not much of a write up on Ryan's bike. But it's a sweet one never the less. Today's '...because we ride' is Ryan's Custom Cramer 29er:

Frame – Custom 29er dedicated single speed designed and built by Mark Cramer. The tubing is True Temper (OX Platinum).

Fork – Vicious Cycles

Brakes – Avid Juicy 7

Wheels – Red P-35s laced to Velocity single speed rear and light disc front. Set up for tubeless application.

Stem – Truvativ Team

Cranks – Truvativ Stylo SS

Bar – Salsa Pro Moto (the widest one I could find)

Post – Ritchey Pro

Saddle – FSA SLK

Thanks to Mark Cramer for the best mountain bike I have ever owned. I will never get rid of this bike!!

_

We'll leave you with a video that went around Velocity from one of Ryan's friends over at the Da' Snot Rocket blog.

A (scheduled) change of pace

Although I'm battling a cold (possibly brought on by my race-like effort on Sunday) and am in desperate need of more sleep, the quality of my runs and swim this week have been second to none. I'm really enjoying this round of marathon training and I get the feeling that Zdenek is, too.

One reason I know that running has become the dominant force in our lives is that we both now consider training schedules when planning our vacations. It's nice to have Zdenek on board; in the past, I've been the only one to worry about missing my 10x400 m repeats while sailing in the Galapagos Islands or finding time to run 18 miles before work on Friday morning in preparation for a weekend away. Now, though, Zdenek and I both consider our training program when figuring out how, where, and when to get away.

I'm excited (almost giddy) to report that we have just booked a Costa Rican March getaway to stay in luxury on a nature preserve (and we've already settled on a plan to fit in our runs before, during, and after the trip). I can barely contain myself thinking of days filled with hikes in the rain forests, zip lining through the canopies, and horseback riding on the beach (pictured above), all interspersed with spa treatments, gourmet seafood, and fresh cocktails. March 7 cannot come soon enough.

Neither Zdenek nor I have done a vacation like this before -- in the past, we've driven or sailed thousands of miles in the course of a week or two, trying to fit in as many educational and sight-seeing opportunities as possible. While such holidays have always been enjoyable and exciting, they've typically been far from relaxing. We're anticipating that our trip to Costa Rica will be a departure in every sense of the word. Besides, we already spend enough time focused on covering our ground as quickly as possible.

WOD

"ANGIE"

For time:
100 Pull Ups
100 Press Ups
100 Sit Ups
100 Squats

Post time to comments

More mayhem!

Not much for you today, more and more videos and pictures are coming out of the the Midwest Mayhem this past weekend. Bike Jerks has got a bunch of videos up on some of highlights, check them out there. Hats off to you, Murder B, who walked away with the Chukker wheelset from us AND the Bruiser frame set in the B class. Well done.

I'll leave you with one video from the event, showing a pretty massive wall ride:

Hand Care

These are James's hands after last nights WOD. He tends to grip the pull up bar in his palm which is a big no-no!! He already had some calluses towards the top of the palm of his hand but he had not treated them correctly.

So, how should we take care of our hands? Over time and many WODs you will develop calluses. Those are good. They toughen up your tender skin. But a callus itself needs care. It needs to be shaved or filed down so that it's level with the rest of your skin. A rule I've heard is if you can pinch it, it needs to be filed.
There are a ton of ways you can do this. You can soak your hand and scrape the dead skin off with a dull knife. You can can use your average razor, but be careful not to shave off too much. I've heard of people using a little dremel to file them down. A pedi-egg is another option.
Whatever you do, get your calluses to be flat/even so they won't cause friction on the bar. Then repeat as necessary and you should be fine.

Strength:

Press 3-3-3 @92% 1RM

Met Con:

For Time:

21-15-9

SDHP

Box Jump

Post load and time to comments

WOD

Rob W has taken an early lead in the Sweat Angel comp with this beauty after Saturdays WOD:

Strength: OFF

Met Con:

20 Pull Ups

5-1 Deadlift / Hang Power Clean / Front Squat

20 Pull Ups

Post time to comments

So much more.

Dear Internet,

As mentioned last week, there has been a few dedicated people who are leading the charge here in Grand Rapids for the new mountain bike park/trails. There was a great write up in our Sunday paper on the project, it's just been really great to see the amount of support and enthusiasm the park is getting from the community [cyclist or not]. Urban renewal takes a lot of different forms, as more and more local governments are making hard decisions on budgets; it's encouraging to see to private citizens and groups, like the IMBA, MMBA, and wMMBA, stepping up to better an area for the greater community. Sure it's just a bike park, but it's so much more.

Also over the weekend, there was a little gathering of 700CMXers for the the Midwest Mayhem in Milwaukee. From the video it looks like it was a really solid turn out. Hope everyone who turned out had a great time and congratulations to all the winners. There are numerous sites to check out all the went down but there are some pretty stellar photos from the event here.

MIDWEST MAYHEM!!! from Seth Root on Vimeo.

A sweet surprise

This morning, Zdenek and I ran the Manhattan half-marathon.

We were intending to treat this as the practice "race pace run" that was in our training plan, anyway, and to run it about 20-30 seconds faster than our usual weekend long runs. Indeed, the course covers two loops of Central Park's rolling hills -- not exactly PB-friendly terrain. And we haven't really trained for a half marathon (we're only finishing Week Three of our marathon training plan), let alone tapered for a race. So this morning, Zdenek and I rolled out of bed at 6 am, tired from dinner and a few drinks the night before, not really expecting much out of our race. I was just happy to be running with 5,000+ other like-minded people in one of my favourite places.

For the first loop, Zdenek tried to run alongside me, but he constantly found himself several meters in front, looking back over his shoulder to see how far behind I'd fallen. But I refused to be pushed today and was determined to run my own race; my biggest concern was to finish strong with a steady pace. At the seven mile water station, Zdenek put considerable distance between us and then finally waved goodbye from up ahead. Now on my own and knowing that I had several big hills to contend with over the last 6.1 miles, I tried, as much as possible, to stay within my limits and watch my HR. Only when I was mid-way through the rolling hills of West Drive did I realize that I had only three more miles and plenty more energy to go; at that point, I decided to gradually bring it up a gear at every mile marker. About 1.5 miles from the finish, I became even more energized by the fact that I was passing everyone in front of me and only very rarely getting passed myself. I hit the 13 mile marker in a 7:20 pace and then made a sprint for the finish.

My efforts did not go unrewarded. I ran only seconds slower than my official half-marathon PB this morning (Zdenek, too, was only seconds off his half-marathon PB, but if he wants to gloat, he'll have to get his own blog), and I did it on a relatively tough course with neither proper training nor taper. I am immensely pleased with how this morning went (and think that training and taper may be over-rated).

Because I hope to both replicate and improve upon these results in the future, I have tried to derive a few valuable lessons from the experience:

• Know yourself. I didn't have any time expectations going into this morning's race, and for the full 13.1 miles I tried hard to tune into my body. It seems that my body knows what it's doing if I only give it a chance, and together, we make a pretty good team.
• Know the course. This morning's two loops of the Park followed hundreds, if not thousands, of such loops over the last four and a half years. I know every bump, every turn, and every incline by foot and by bike. I know where I can safely pick up the pace. I know where to move to the middle of the road to avoid the steep bank. I know the exact spot at which the grade of Harlem Hill suddenly increases by 3%. This morning, I was running in my own backyard.
• Negative split. It's the mantra of elite running, but I've always had a hard time believing that I could knock 15 seconds off my per-mile time halfway through a race. And yet, that's precisely what I did today. I can finally appreciate what it's like to finish a race fast, strong, and, most importantly, upright.

Earlier this week, I made dinner reservations for tonight at Dovetail (one of the nicest spots on the UWS), and Zdenek had joked that we better run fast if we are to earn that extravagant dinner. Mission accomplished.

WOD

Strength:
Deadlift 3-3-3 @92% 1RM

Met Con:
Run 800m
21 Thrusters
Run 400m
15 Thrusters
Run 200m
9 Thrusters

Post loads and time to comments

WOD

Strength:
1 Attempt Max Hold Handstand

Met Con:
5 Rounds For Time:
5 Clean & Jerk
10 Ring Dips

Post time to comments

Just a little video.

Just a little video for you today from the crew at City Grounds. We could pick out a few of our rims in it... can you? Enjoy.

WOD

Strength:
Front Squat 5-5-5-5-5

Met Con:
Tabata-
Thrusters
Ring Press Up
Wall Ball

Complete 8 rounds of 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds of rest for each exercise. Begin with Thrusters, then once all 8 sets are complete move to Ring Press Ups etc. There is only a 10 second rest between exercises, so move quickly. Score is total number of reps completed.

Post score to comments

because we ride... Polo Time.

This week we have our fearless GM's, Matt, polo bike. We've got a nice little write up for you, enjoy:

'A winter commuter turned polo rig.'

The frame is a Specialized HardRock that I got from Doug Koster in the spring of 2005. I don’t know where he got it and that’s probably for the best. It was stripped bare and rattle canned in the basement of 2208 Godwin in Grand Rapids. The fork is a RockShox Quadra that came from Doug at the same time. The steer tube was extended and re-welded to fit this bike. Shimano STX headset and stock Specialized stem and bars. Lefty style Altus 420 brake lever to a Tektro rear cantilever. Brake housing is routed through a top tube pad purchased by Bob Zeilstra during a holiday in Japan. My future grandchildren will thank me for the Raceface stem pad. Specialized seat post, Schwinn saddle, Salsa clamp.

The front wheel is a 26” Deep V ATB (OG Chukker) laced to a Velocity ATB hub with butted spokes. The rear wheel is a 26” Aeroheat rim laced to a Velocity cutout flange track hub with 14 gauge spokes. 32 spokes each and both are 3 cross.

The rear hub has been re-spaced to accept a 5 speed freewheel which is the only way I could get the chain line and length to work out. Gearing is 27x21. Cranks are 170mm Shimano Alivios…black on one side silver on the other due to an unfortunate bike chucking incident. Rear tire is a Continental Town and Country from Jacobi’s tandem, front is a Specialized Crossroads that was probably on the bike when I got it. She’s a real gnarly bitch.

For those of you who need a little 'how to' on the ins and outs of Bike Polo, I found a video for you below. Come this spring if you're in the West Michigan area and want to try your hand in the sport, on Sundays and Wednesdays under the S-Curve there are matches normally going on.

Hey everybody! Ryan's back!

After what we considered a pretty normal Monday here at Velocity, minus the fact that we were running a man down. Today we are back to running at full strength with Ryan here after his extended weekend.

Turns out, Ryan is a pretty experienced recumbent rider and took an extra day to spend cruising around with the rest of his recumbent crew [as seen in the picture]. I'm told it was a great spin out west, with a few stellar climbs and some great flats to really open up the legs.

In all seriousness, Ryan was gone yesterday due to some reoccurring back problems after working on some of the new trails being built here in Grand Rapids over the weekend. Yes, we are resilient here in the Mitten, building trails in January is possible. A few of the local news stations made it out, you can check out one of their write ups here. GR Bike has a few things up on their Facebook or do what we do and follow them on their Twitter.

WOD

The new Tuesday 6pm-7pm class will start tonight, lets see a good turnout. For this week only the Thursday 6-7pm class will move to Friday 6-7pm.

4 Rounds For Time:
Run 400m
10 Push Press
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Knees to Elbows

Post time to comments

Follow Us.

We've done it and since you read our blog, odds are you also are on Facebook and/or Twitter. Find us on Facebook by searching for Velocity USA or follow us on Twitter, velocityusa. There are links on the sidebar if you want a direct link to those sites or you can click on either of the logos on this post.

The blog will be reposted on our Facebook page. We'll be doing our best to be showing you more of life around Velocity, what we are doing and where we are at via Twitter, and probably squeeze in a random J-Bolt quote and give-a-ways now and again. All depending on the mood you never know what you might get.

Around 5 months ago, one of our own set out to save the world. Dave headed down to the Dominican Republic with his wife to work at a orphanage. As we know, the Dominican Republic shares the same island with Haiti. It's hard to deny or grasp the amount of destruction and loss that has hit that those nations as the work has begun to recover from the earthquake. Dave's brother works in Haiti and both are working to help those in need. His brother works with a group called Medical Ministry International. Although aid is coming through by way of governments around the world; there are always ways for us to intentionally give by supporting groups like the MMI in their efforts to help the Haitian people. Check out their site to see what can be done.

Change to this weeks classes

The new Tuesday 6pm-7pm class will start this week, lets see a good turnout. For this week only the Thursday 6-7pm class will move to Friday 6-7pm.

Strength:
Press 5-5-5-5-5 @ 80% 1RM

Met Con:
For time:
30 Overhead Squat
30 Burpee Box Jump

Post loads and time to comments

Hangry

Week Two of marathon training concluded today with an excellent 2000 m swim and a 45 minute session with a personal trainer immediately thereafter. My swimming has improved considerably in only two weeks and, combined with my love for endurance running and my new found passion for cycling, I'm starting to get an itch to soon train for a triathlon. (A girl -- about my age -- at the gym today was wearing a Brazil Ironman shirt that read "Finisher" across the back. It made me jealous.) Running-wise, the weekend has also been a success. Yesterday morning, Zdenek and I ran 16.5 miles together in sunny weather. That represented Zdenek's longest run of his life, and for me constituted a welcome return to the long, slow runs of marathon training.

I marvel at how much our running routine has changed over the last year. Before Zdenek trained for his first half marathon in 2009, Saturday mornings would look something like this: we'd both get up and head to Central Park, running slowly together for about six miles. At that point, he'd turn off and head back home, and I'd continue on for ten or more solo miles. When I'd finally return home, the pancake batter would be prepared and waiting, the coffee would be hot and freshly brewed, and I had only to take a five minute shower before settling down to replenish my stores.

These days, however, Zdenek and I both return home together, equally exhausted and hangry (i.e., the irritable state induced by low blood sugar). We usually shovel a small bowl of yogurt into our mouths as quickly as we can while simultaneously trying to enter that day's mileage, pace, and weather conditions into our respective logs on runnersworld.com (it seems that I'm not the only anal runner in the house). Suddenly, as soon as the bowls are empty and the logs completed, we both get the chills and can't wait another moment to jump in the hot shower. A back-and-forth ensues about who will get the shower first. The winner inevitably ends up taking far too long while the loser stands outside yelling, "Are you almost done?!" to which the winner replies, "Why don't you just get breakfast started?" And so on.

I love my husband and I treasure the fact that we are now swimming, biking, or running together on an almost daily basis. It's awesome to have a training partner and best friend next to me on every lap, loop, and sprint. But there are some days that I wish that I was the only one coming home from a hard workout. There is only room enough for one hangry person in this small apartment.

WOD

100 Double Unders For Time

Post time to comments

Sweat Angels

Sweat Angels are a sign from the CrossFit gods that they are happy with sacrifice you have made to "WOD". That is a pic of one of my better efforts, think you have a better one? Well now you have the chance to prove it!! For the next month we are running a Sweat Angel competition, the best picture of a Sweat Angel will win a prize!!!

Strength:
Deadlift 5-5-5-5-5 @ 80% 1RM

Met Con:
10 SDHP
10 Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball
8 SDHP
8 Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball
6 SDHP
6 Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball
4 SDHP
4 Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball
2 SDHP
2 Pull Ups
10 Wall Ball
Post loads and time to comments

Aya Kiguchi

Nozomi Sasaki, Japanese Idol


Sayuri Ohtomo, Japanese Idol


Aya Ueto, Japanese Idol



Suzuka Ishikawa, Japanese Idol


Aya Kiguchi


Aya Kiguchi

Snatch Balance
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Post load to comments

Friday.

It's hard to beat the original. The Aero rim might be one of my favorite looking rims we have. Although the P35, Blunt and A23 are definitely getting more of my attention lately. But like a parent with their children, I love them all but I have a soft spot for a few.

So this weeks Friday Highlight is our Track Aero Set. And why not, it's tried, true, proven [not to mention on sale!]

Built on our 32 hole solid axle, cutout flange track hubs and available in 16 different rim colors. Available from your local bicycle shop, contact them for pricing. Did a mention that they are on sale? Oh yeah! Get yours!


In Midwest? Do a little 700cMXing? Next weekend is the Midwest Mayhem Trick Competition over in the Milwaukee area. More information here, we sent over a Chukker wheel set for you all to try and get your hands on. Good luck!

... because We Ride. 2 for 1... sorta.

For this weeks '...because We Ride' bicycle segment we have the head of our shipping department, Jeff Bolt and his IRO 29er. Here's a little write up from J-Bolt himself:

This is my IRO 29er. I built this up towards the end of last summer. It’s the first MTB that I’ve ever had. Ryan and Jacobi were going out a lot to the various (and great) trails in our area and it seemed like a lot of fun so I got Tony at IRO to help me out with it. I only got out on the trails a couple times last fall, but can’t wait to get out again. Since we get some brutal winters here in west Michigan I re-purposed it for the winter as a snow commuter, just trying to get the most use out of it as possible. I didn’t put much time or money into customizing this bike, I just built it as cheap as I could to see if I would really even get into mountain biking. I’m sure someday I’ll build up some uber nice 29er with a bunch of fancy components (maybe with a bigger frame), but for now this is all I need in a MTB.

Bicycle Spec:

Frame: Iro 29er (22” still a bit small for my stupid tall self)
Fork: Iro
Wheelset: Celeste Blunts laced with black DT Swiss Competition spokes and black DT nips to Velocity lightweight disc front and single speed disc rear hubs
Tires: Continental Mountain King 2.2
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beaters
Crank: Iro 175mm
Chain: KMC Z chain

Freewheel: Shimano 17t
Bottom Bracket: Iro eccentric
Handlebars: Truvativ Hussefelt
Stem: Truvativ XR
Headset: FSA
Brakeset: Avid BB7 w/ 160mm rotors
Saddle: Specialized shop take off
Seat Post: Iro

Other Accessories: Black and a Celeste Velocity Velocage (R.I.P.), Planet Bike 29er Fenders (just for the winter)

Big thanks to Tony at IRO for the help with this bike he’s a good dude to deal with!

_

The next bike we have is actually coming to us from our brethren in Australia. You might remember Adam Pelzer's pseudo Bianchi from last month. This morning we got a email from him saying it's time to part ways with one of his steeds.


Here's a little run down on the bike:

· DACCORDI PURSUIT BIKE

· BUILT EARLY 1980'S FOR LA OLYMPICS.

· WHITE PEARL PAINT.

· COLUMBUS SL TUBING.

· COLUMBUS TIPS.

· NO BRAKE DRILLS.

· MINT FRAME.

· WHITE VELOCITY AEROHEAD WHEELSET, 36H SEALED BEARING HUBSET FIX/FIXED.

· 520mm 24x1 1/8" FRONT WHEEL

· 622mm 700c REAR WHEEL

· SUGINO SUPER MIGHTY 52T TRACK CRANKSET

· STRONGLIGHT 1" THREADED ROLLER BEARING HEADSET

· THOMPSON 27.2mm POST

· WHITE TURBO SADDLE

· CAMPAGNOLO ITALIAN BOTTOM BRACKET

· 16T 1/8" COG

· GOLD KMC 710 CHAIN

· BULLHORNS

· SCHWALBE STELVIO TYRES

· CENTRE TO CENTRE SEAT TUBE 57cm

· CENTRE TO CENTRE TOP TUBE 55cm

NO PEDALS

RIDDEN A FEW LAPS OF VELODROME SINCE REBUILD

WILL PACK AND SHIP WORLD WIDE.

$1800 AUD

Interested? Email Adam directly here: adam@velocitywheels.com

INTENSITY

Have a listen to CrossFit founder Coach Greg Glassman talk about intensity - it's only 5 mins and clearly explains why we make you work the way we do!!



Strength:
1 Attempt at Max Reps Pull Ups

Met Con:
AMRAP 10 mins
5 Thruster
10 SDHP
15 Wallball

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A simple equation.

As mentioned yesterday, the ball has begun to roll on items for the Handmade Show in February. The first teaser for what you'll get to see is represented by the equation above. We're working with another company here in Grand Rapids called [Michigan Awesome], if all goes to plan it's going to be a pretty sweet one-of-a-kind tribute to the Glove!

Nice catch by Jeff over at Bike Jerks on our stellar new hold music. We switched it over not more than 24 hours ago and sure enough he noticed. Matt has been raving about the Trailer Park Boys for some time and it has gotten the thumbs up from the rest of us. Check it out!

WOD

We are definitely going to do a CrossFit Velocity version of this!!



Strength:
Front Squat 3-3-3 @90% 1RM

Met Con:
15-12-9
OH Squat
Burpee Pull Ups

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Corinne Bailey Rae covers Billboard

Corinne Bailey Rae has been MIA, understandably, since the death of her husband in 2008. But now the soulful songstress is making a comeback with the release of her sophomore album, "The Sea."

The album will be in stores on January 26th, but you can get a sneak peak of her album at Corinne's official website here. Also check out her new video "I'd Do It Again."

I'm loving Corinne's new, longer hair by the way. The hairstyle suits her to no end and her music sounds inspiring, though somewhat dark. Below is an Observer Music Monthly Podcast where she explains her musical inspiration behind this album. I hope she has as much success with this album as her first!

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A few things for today...

Lots of things going on here at Velocity today. Of course we have the normal grind of wheel building, pulling and taking orders but we are also preparing for North American Handmade Bicycle Show and Frostbike coming up. Jacobi has been leading the charge on getting together custom and unique wheel sets for the Handmade show that will definitely catch your eye and hopefully make your jaw drop. You can rest easy that as Handmade draws closer I'll start to post some teaser photos of these. All of that topped with the construction of two new workstations and a photo booth we've got, as always, exciting things ahead.

On a cycling note... still haven't scratched your cyclocross itch enough? Like snow? Live in West Michigan? Here's your ticket, Versluis Snowcross at Versluis Orchards here in Grand Rapids. A great little event that's been happening the last few years. Another reason to get out and ride. More information go here and here.

On a completely different note, some of you have already gotten your hands on one of these, others of you may have yet to hear of them, and the rest of you might be on the fence with them. Carl Buchanan recently got his hands on our new bottle traps and will be giving his thoughts as on them as he gets some ride time with them on a number of his rigs. Carl is a 24 endurance mountain biker, cyclocross guru and has also been racing road for the last few years, all this to say he rides and knows what works and doesn't. He did do a little weight comparison in his initial impressions that caught my eye:

'The Velocity Bottle Traps came in at 30g each which is identical to the Profile Design Karbon Kages that I had mounted on the SystemSix previous to this. I also have the Bontrager Race X Lite cages which weigh in at 26g.'

Lots of weight savings at a fraction of the price! Get yours!

Rob W

You have all seen Rob getting stuck into his training over the last few months and have witnessed first hand his transformation. He will keep improving because he listens, is committed and has started to eat Paleo. Most importantly he has that ability to push himself to work at high intensity, if you do this the results come quickly!!
He has written this for our new testimonial's page (can the rest of you get something to me?)

Dear CrossFit Velocity
I wanted to take 10 minutes to put in to words the gratitude I have to you all for introducing me to CrossFit. To say it has exceeded all my expectations is an understatement even if someone had told me I would lose a stone a month there is no way I would have expected it to be as enjoyable as it has been. The techniques obviously work as I am not the first to have achieved such fantastic results but in my opinion it is the way you all teach the techniques, the exercises you prescribe and the way you motivate us all through your technical knowledge, experience and infectious enthusiasm that has the greatest effect.
To put in to perspective my experience, as national sales manager for Billabong a surf and skate company my job involves a lot of travelling entertaining and staying in hotels, over the last 8 years my health has really taken a back seat to my job and family. During this time my weight has blossomed to a handsome 18 stone. This has been compounded with chronic back pain and a number other minor complaints, in 2 months you have all made me realise that there is room on the front seat for health as well as family and work and how much you can achieve in 5-15 mins of high intensity. At 33 and very out of shape I was really concerned that I would make a fool of myself or struggle to do any of the workouts or lifts but the fact everything is scalable and the environment so supportive my concerns were completely misplaced. I am still amazed at the mix of people in every class from 15 year old school boys to 60 year old ladies and back to serious Rugby players and podgy pen pushers like myself. And here I am 2 months later 2 Stone Lighter, with no back pain with more energy than I have had in 15 Years!
The thing I enjoy the most about CrossFit Velocity is the supportive and encouraging environment and the ease in which new members slip into the fold there is zero ego and no arrogance everyone is there because the enjoy it and it gets you in shape incredibly quickly, no one is there to pose or just to look good and I think this is really amazing. I feel I am part of a secret and I desperately want to tell the world about. I think you have something really special going on at CrossFit Velocity and I am excited and privileged to be a part of it. I am going to enjoy watching the CrossFit Velocity grow because anyone who comes for a month is going to get hooked! Promise...
Good luck guys, not that you need it!
Cheers
Rob W
Robin WilkinsUK ManagerElement / Eden / Von Zipper UK

Strength:
In 10 Mins Find Your 1RM Power Clean
Met Con:
5 rounds For Time:
5 Handstand Press Ups
10 Knees to Elbows
15 Ring Dips

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Water girl

I could be described as being many things during my adolescence, but “athletic” would not be one of them. While I participated in a range of sports, including t-ball, soccer, and softball, my participation was usually limited to a year or two at the most. I was never particularly coordinated or skilled and I could never run very quickly. In Grade Eight, I tried out for the volleyball team to be with my friends; the coach, in an effort to be encouraging, took pity on me and gave me a spot on the team, but I spent most (80%) of the season as a benchwarmer. In Grade Nine, I wised up to the fact that I wasn’t especially talented on the court, and instead decided to concentrate my energies on other important matters -- namely, boys. I convinced the boys’ basketball coach to let me serve as the water girl, and I traveled to all of the high school meets with the team (on which my fourteen year old boyfriend was the star player) to ensure that fresh, cold water was always on hand. With that, I concluded the sporting involvements of my youth.

The only sport in which I participated for more than one season was competitive swimming. Somewhere around second or third grade, my mom enrolled me in a top competitive swim club (which has produced a handful of Olympic medalists and with which my own niece and nephews are now swimming). I didn’t last for more than three years because I wasn’t, in fact, a very talented swimmer (no surprise there). In retrospect, I probably should have stuck with it, because I now appreciate that success in athletics (especially during adolescence) can sometimes take many years to cultivate. Nevertheless, I always enjoyed being in the water, and what I lacked in speed and technique I more than made up for in endurance and determination. I recall a few times in the pool swimming lap after lap, sometimes long after my team mates had already showered and gone home. There were fringe benefits, too: I enjoyed the early Saturday morning workouts if only for the McDonald’s Egg McMuffins that we picked up on the drive back home, and after I actually placed in a meet in Grade Three, my school principal announced it over the PA system to the entire student body.

In the past 15 years, though, the number of times I’ve swam dedicated laps for exercise purposes has probably numbered less than twenty. In the last two years alone, I think I’ve been in the pool a handful of times -- despite the fact that one reason Zdenek and I pay for an exorbitantly priced gym membership is to have access to the only 25 meter pool on the UWS. Part of the problem is that swimming today seems much fussier than it did when I was a kid. Back then, I’d get out, rinse off, put my clothes on over my wet bathing suit, and be driven home to a find a hot dinner waiting at the table. Today, I have to either haul all of my toiletries to the gym or be forced to shower a second time when I get home, my skin feels tight and flaky from the chlorine, I worry about wearing flip flops on the pool deck and in the shower lest I pick up some funky foot disease, and if I get home too late then dinner will consist of a bowl of cereal. Running is infinitely less cumbersome, and even the preparatory work required for cycling is minimal by comparison. Combined with the crowded lanes and too-warm water of our gym’s pool, the thought of staring at a black line for 45 minutes or more is never very appetizing when Central Park is only 1/2 mile from my doorstep. (For Zdenek, who was once a mighty competitive swimmer, the prospects are even worse: he finds the pace of the lanes at our local pool to be a tad on the slow side, and he’s been reprimanded by the lifeguards for everything from going too quickly to doing the butterfly stroke (his specialty).)

Yesterday afternoon, however, Zdenek and I headed to the pool for our first swimming workout of 2010. Today, he hurts in all the places where he used his muscles to power him through the water, and I hurt in all the places that I stressed my joints from poor technique. This said, I’m going to try to make a commitment during my current marathon plan to devote more cross-training days to swimming. For one, it will make better use of my gym membership. Secondly, it will (hopefully) develop new muscles and upper body strength with limited injury risk. Thirdly, I am married to a former competitive swimmer who also happens to be a great coach, so I have hours and hours of free instruction at my disposal.

All things considered, it’s time I tried to become a water girl once again.

Velocity Wheelset: P-35 Rims- Out Of The Box

Over the weekend, a nice little out of the box thoughts on the P35 was posted over at Twenty Nine Inches.com by Guitar Ted. We're sold on them and we're sure he'll be once he gets some ride time on them! Enjoy:

Velocity Wheelset: P-35 Rims- Out Of The Box
January 10th, 2010 by Guitar Ted

I remember waaay back as a kid the old Pontiac ads that touted the “Widetrack” stance of their cars at the time. Better stability on the road, they said. Well, that reminds me a whole bunch of the new P-35 rims from Velocity. Wide stance rims give the tires a wider foot print and better grip and stability out on the trail. So the theory goes. That is what I aim to test out on these wheels over the next weeks and months.

But first, let’s take a closer look at what we have here. The Velocity products in this wheel not only include the rims, but also Velocity’s newest version of their hubs. When choosing a hub set for this test, I decided upon a 20mm through axle front and a single speed specific rear hub. The rear hub has a threaded drive side to accept a free wheel. The threaded hub is more a preference in my mind than an advantage or disadvantage. Either threaded or cassette works nicely for me. Moving on from that we have sealed cartridge bearings and the rear hub features a Hi/Lo flange arrangement. The bearings feel very smooth to the hand. The finish looks top notch. The rear hub goes at about 288 grams per Velocity’s site and the front 20mm through axle hub weighs in at approximately 250 grams. The hubs are laced to the P-35’s with DT Swiss Champion spokes using red alloy nipples. Hubs are available separately through any local bike shop. MSRP’s may vary according to the shop you use, but expect to pay about $90.00 for the front hub and about $100.00 for the single speed disc hub.

The hubs are laced by Velocity in house by their own wheel builders. Each wheel build is signed off on by the person who built it. A nice touch. By the way, Velocity will lace your hubs to rims at their Grand Rapids, Michigan facility should you have something you want laced to a Velocity rim. Just contact your local shop for more on that. The builds looked well done. Tensions were great, and everything looked in order.

The P-35 is a rim that was developed in tandem with Velocity by Kirk Pacenti. The rim is described by Velocity as follows: “The P35 is designed for the cross country/all mountain rider craving a laterally stiff yet weight conscious rim that is still tough enough for the occasional Super – D race.” Sounds like an all around use rim to me. And here are the specs on the rim again:
Outside Width: 35mm
Inside Width: 29.5mm
Depth: 22mm

Weight
29”: 595g

Pretty impressive for a 29″er rim. Lighter weight, and a wide inner rim well promise fat, fast tire performance. But will they hold up? That we shall see! As long as we’re on the subject of the rims, I will say that these are designed to be run tubeless. Velocity has decided that for the time being, a Stan’s strip will do for sealing the rim well. That said, they are still working on bringing their own rim strip to market. More details on that when they are released. These will definitely see tubeless usage during our tests. The rear hub attaches via Allen head bolts.

Now for the total weight of each wheel. The front came in at 1030 grams and the rear at 1160 grams. So, no lightweights here, but I figured these would be best suited to more aggressive type riding, and the weight doesn’t bother me in that regard. One has to figure that rims weighing nearly 600 grams each are not going to build up the lightest wheel set!

In the next update I will detail out the finishing touches to this wheel set and hopefully introduce the bike they are going on. Stay tuned!

Note: The reviewed products were provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. I was not paid or bribed for this review. I will give/gave my honest opinion or thoughts through out.

WOD

Strength:
Press 3-3-3 @ 90% 1RM

Met Con:
30 Wall Ball
1 min rest
30 Wall Ball
1 min rest
30 Wall Ball

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Slow Going in the Cold

I have gotten calls and emails asking why there have been no new posts since last month, so here is an update. It has been ridiculously cold here in Pennsylvania, with temperatures in my unheated hangar often in the teens. Add that motivation sapping factor to the Holidays and you get some slow progress. I have still been at it, under several inches of fleece. I'll post a few pictures of what I've been up to since the last post.

The picture above shows the stick grip. There were a number of issues to address here. First, the thing has 6 different switches which are not labeled. You will find that there are very few ( actually only one that I found) places that can engrave on a compound curve like the surface of this grip, which explains why you never see the control switches labeled. On my first plane, I was always uneasy about using the less frequently used switches because I would forget what they did. I wanted them clearly labeled this time.

Also, I tried to thread the cable bundle from all those switches in the Infinity grip through the stick and there was NO way to get the bundle past the pivot bolt. The fixes are set forth below.

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Here is the stick back from the engraver. I am very happy with the finished product. All the control labels are neatly engraved and painted.

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Here is a final shot showing the silver inlaid engraving on the com flip flop switch on the stick. Thanks to Erika Terosa at S.E. T. Graphics for the laser engraving. You can contact her at setgraphics.com. I highly recommend her work.

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The Infinity stick grip was just too high as you could see in previous pictures. Also, the inner diameter of the grip was much bigger than the Velocity stick. The solution was to cut 1 1/8 inch off the stick and drill a hole in the stick to match the mounting boss inside the grip, then add a spacer provided by Infinity. Here is the modified stick reprimed and reinstalled.

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Now I add the aluminum spacer from Infinity and I'm ready to install the stick.

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After modifying the stick and engraving the grip, here it is temporarily re-installed. It looks terrific. Unfortunately, I say temporarily because more mods are required. Remember, the wires won't fit down the inside of the stick. The factory recommended solution is to Dremel out a channel in the forward bottom side of the stick and bring the wires out on the outside front of the stick. They then travel down a groove in the aluminum spacer from Infinity and are tie wrapped to the stick down to the pivot point. I'll post pictures of the mods later.

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Of course, there is always more tweaking to be done. It turned out by sheer bad luck that the bottom two snaps lined up so as to meet between the stick and the keel every so many times the stick was pushed full forward, occasionally causing almost 1/2 inch loss in stick travel. The solution was to remove the bottom two snaps and hand sew that portion. It looked fine and hung below the top of the keel in any case.

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Here are a couple of shots of the bootie to show the general construction for anyone pondering how to fabricate one. The perimeter at the bottom is 1/16th inch Kydex to which the leather has been glued with Loctite high strength spray adhesive. The Kydex is then attached to the keel top with #6 sheet metal screws.

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Here is a shot of the overhead panel. I realized I hadn't posted a shot of the finished product. I am mostly very happy with it. The match paint almost perfectly mimics the leather trim. The custom engraved rocker switches look great. I have dimmable and steerable eyeball lights for pilot and copilot. The only thing I'd like to change is the placard behind the two dimmer switches. I decided to take them out and have a single black custom labeled placard made to match those in the panel. I removed the placards, laid out the custom one and sent it out to the engraver.

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I finish glassed the hard points and final mounted the Grand Rapids Aux battery. It turned out nice and neat.

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I trimmed and notched the keel cover to clear a wire bundle from the panel. Although this fits on top of the keel and behind the panel, I felt compelled to match paint it, since you can still see the sides when standing outside the plane looking in. As you can see, I tried to put on a second coat of the acrylic lacquer too soon and it crinkled on me. I brought it home to repaint it later this week. Might as well get that last spot and get it just so.

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I decided to match paint the seat rails. I know, "Mark, they're under the seat and no one will see them". Well, I've seen primer white rails under the seats in otherwise pristine interiors and it bugged me. Let's face it, the only one who will notice is me, but I'm really only doing this to my specs. As my friend Andy Millin and I recently agreed on this subject, "We have met the enemy and they are us". I even tried matching the rails to the carpet before repainting to match the seat leather. Oh well, I'm all about the overkill.

I am going to detach the doors and bring them home to my heated workshop in the basement. It has been in the teens in my hangar and my little space heater is not cutting it from a comfort standpoint, much less from a suitable temperature for spray painting. I need to touch up some scratches and scrapes, fill in some pinholes on the copilot door and respray, finesse the holes for the door lock tabs and add the "Experimental" vinyl graphics as well as the door seal.

This will keep me busy for a week, then vacation in sunny Mexico, the it's February. Unbelievable how time flies by.

More to come......


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