After much ado...

Now, I won't lie. I didn't know exactly what to expect for pictures from the Ray's trip by the guys. I knew that the battery died pretty quickly into the trip but I still had hopes that a few good shots would make it.

Well, they never claimed to be artists only riders; only around 6 pictures made it and honestly I'm ok with that because the last thing you want to do at Ray's is carry around a camera while you're riding let alone stop and take pictures.

Brian over at Alger Cycle was kind enough the lend out their van to get everyone to Cleveland. There ended up being around 13 guys making the trip, 8 in van [one picked up in Detroit] and another 5 who met up at Ray's. As Brad mentioned this was the maiden voyage for the blue van and what better way to stretch the legs than a 5 hour drive from GR to Cleveland; fortunately, no issues. Ryan and Jacobi spearheaded the trip guaranteeing anyone who went to improve at least 20% and I think it's safe to say, everyone had a blast and improved in some regard. Here are a few pictures that made it back...

Waiting to take off...

View from the back of the van...

Matt fresh off the 'Sport' or Intermediate section

Sure, more pictures would have been nice but then again they went there to ride and that's what we do... we ride our bikes.

A video that has been making it's way around Velocity this morning definitely shows the versatility of the bicycle... not only as an instrument of recreation and exercise but also an instrument of the beat down.

It appears that the proper form to use when delivering a beat down with a bike is strikingly similar to that of a cyclocross dismount and transition over a barrier. Don't be afraid when preparing to use your bike as an instrument of carnage to line up to your target, making sure that not only both wheels hit the desired object/person but also the frame. This video was a classic example of a 2-for-1 deal and proving that a bicycle beats anything with a motor on it.

Now for the answer you've all been waiting for to yesterdays 'Who's Cousins' edition of the Wheel Department Trivia... That question being 'At a recent Christmas gathering, one Velocity employee became aware of being distant cousins to what other Velocity employee... Name those two... ' Was it A. J-Bolt B. Rach C. Ryan or D. M.D.?

The answer is best told in pseudo-story form. The one and only J-Bolt or Boltman or his newest name/title for himself being that of Shipmas-Christ [yeah, we know] was celebrating Christmas Eve with his family. Seeing that J-Bolt is such the family man, conversation was aplenty. Since bikes and our work are never far from our mind or the conversations we seem to get into, J-Bolt was talking with a cousin. Through the normal family banter a fellow Velocity employees name was brought up and then realized that there was a strange connection. As the day went on, it began to become clear that there were family ties... distant cousins going some thing like this:

J-Bolt has a cousin, who is married to a guy, who has a brother, who is married to girl, who dated a guy, who's best friend roomed with a few guys and one of their sisters mothers had a grandfather who was the parent of twins who were separated at birth, who then met later in life through a cousin who was married to woman who ended up knowing another lady who married a cousin of Ryan.

If you haven't put it together yet, the two Velocity employee's who are distant cousins by law are J-Bolt and Ryan. It's an extremely distant bond but regardless the world may never quite be the same after this realization.

Of course, a quickly photoshoped picture was in order for such an occasion.

And we're back at it...

In what we'll call my feeble attempt at an Ansel Adams type photo, a quick glimpse into the Velocity wheel department. You can see our Senior, err, Master Wheel Builder Paul and Ryan getting back into the swing of things after a great 4 day weekend, even though it's another short week here at the Velocity there's always a wheel to be built.

There was a bit of, let's say disturbing, news that came about over the holiday. Disturbing maybe an overstatement, but it surely illuminates some things and that news [queue the dramatic music] is this weeks...

Wheel Department Trivia

We'll put today's trivia in the Name Those Cousins category. At a recent Christmas gathering, one Velocity employee became aware of being distant cousins to what other Velocity employee... Name those two...

The shocking answer tomorrow. I have not forgotten about an update on Ryan, J-Bolt, Matt and Jacobi's trip to Ray's a week back, simply waiting on some pictures. For now, head over to the Founders Racing site and read a little write up from one of their riders who headed down with the crew.

PAID.

As the week comes to a close, orders continue to be filled, wheels are being built and friendly wagers are being paid. If you remember yesterday, I decided to take on Jacobi in a friendly wager concerning the 'Pump' shoes. I think we can all agree that there was really only one 'real' pump shoe and others simply made shoes that NASA would be proud of.

But not being a sore loser, I pay up... and pay up promptly regardless of the amount of trash talk surrounding the bet. As you can see by Jacobi's enthusiastic expression on his face and the box in his hand, there is payment in full: 500 of the finest U.S. pennys.

Don't go spending it all in one place!

Now, the Friday Highlight... As mentioned on Tuesday we got quite a few rims and bottle traps in and if you were at Interbike this past fall you might have been able to get a sneak peak into these guys.

Some of you might remember our former bottle cage, the Velocage. It had an amazing run and was hard to say goodbye to. What closed the door on the Velocage was the machine we used to make them continued to break and the cost to fix and replace was not worth it to continue with that style. We then began to develop a cage that would be just as reliable and strong as the previous style.

Enter the Bottle Trap, this composite cage is being made just down the road from our Austrailia facility and has the same quality you come to expect from us, satisfaction guaranteed. We're offering it in a slew of colors to match whatever setup and color combo you might be rocking.


Remember if you're in Dallas or San Francisco to check out the Skidaddelisco Alleycat on Saturday and on Sunday the Pedallas 'The Twenty' Alleycat. Also tomorrow and Sunday, a few of the guys are heading down to Rays MTB in Cleveland. Jacobi, Ryan, J-Bolt and Matt will be riding in the afternoon and then again Sunday. Stop and say hello if you happen to be in that neck of the woods. Hopefully we'll have some pictures from the trip for you next week. Until then, enjoy...

Rays MTB Promo 30 from nocturnal bmx on Vimeo.