This and That JibJab

Moving

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:10:00 +0000

This was my first blog. 250+ posts later, it's time to say goodbye.

I'm simplifying and posting the daily randoms here: http://discoinferno.tumblr.com/

=)

What's in a name?

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:50:00 +0000

After reading this intereting post at CyclingWMD, I was anxious to learn about the history of my Gayas pursuit frame. I started by emailing the guy I bought it from, Sung at keepwheelreal, and got a bunch of great leads.

The frame was handmade in DaeGu Korea by SK, formerly named SunKyung, which is now one of the biggest mobile service and oil companies in Korea today. In the midst of the Korean Currency Crisis, SunKyung sold off part of their bicycle business and stopped making Gayas frames in the late 90's.

The name, "Gayas" is derived from the Gaya confederacy (42 CE - 562 CE). With the help of Google Maps I discovered that the city of DaeGu (where the frame was built) resides where parts of the Gaya confederacy once was. In DaeGu, you'll find the Gayasan National Park as well as many other ties to the 12 ancient polities that comprised the Gaya confederacy. These tribes were pioneers of the iron age. Wikipedia states, "The technology of Gaya was much more advanced than that of the Japanese dynasties of the time," and that "archaeological evidence suggests that Gaya polities were the main exporter of technology and culture to Kyushu at that time".

Researching and learning about all of the aforementioned was a lot of fun. Anyone that's into track racing will tell you that frame building is an art form, and that the builders, are held in high regard. Just look at the hype around Japanese NJS track goods. I think it's sooo cool that the Korean frame builders of DaeGu paid homage to their technologically advanced ancestors by incorporating that history into the name of this frame. And what's even cooler, is how the internet makes it possible for anyone to learn about anything, including these gems of Korean history and culture. I knew the intricacies and geometry of my pursuit bike were unique, but I didn't realize it was forged from descendants of the pioneers of the iron age! I'm not worthy!

JibJab Video Tour

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Take a tour of JibJab and meet the team in 1 minute 16 seconds, check it out!

Trackstand footy from BikeDayLA

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:55:00 +0000

My friend captured some video of me in the the trackstand competition that went down at BikeDay LA a few weeks back.

BikeDayLA - Trackstand Comp from Joey on Vimeo.

On a separate note, I was able to scrape this video from facebook by:

Opening my temporary internet files folder
Sorted items by date, then by size
Located/copied a large unknown file type (recognized "fb" in the string)
Pasted file to desktop
Renamed file so extension ended in ".flv"
^Success (you will need a flash player)

Tip: I redid step 5, renaming the file to end in ".mp4" to see if picture quality wold improve. It did, slightly... so I went with that file instead.

bike check one two

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Pretty sweet... my pursuit build is getting some featured time on PEDALMAFIA :)

Camping - Lake Isabella

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:05:00 +0000

There were four of us in total, but all my shots w/ people are on film cams and won't be processed/posted for a week or so. Here's a few photos from the iPhone and my trusty point and shoot.

Big Mac smoreBlaha! This is when Diz's car got stuck (so did my Passat, but not as funny when it happens to me)

camp

The last two were taken around 5am, before the Lake came alive with boats and jet skis. It was a fun trip, it's nice to get out of LA and into some nature, but it wasn't long before I was miming fixed lines I planned to put together when I got back. Next time, I'll have to find a way to combine the two - camping x fixies :) Now that's camping!

day 'n' nite

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:54:00 +0000

I love riding in West LA. Tons of spots. Day or night, the weathers always perfect.

Venice skatepark via beavedge

Late night film shoot. Peep the camera crane!

I LOVE HALLE BERRY

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:38:00 +0000

Check out Halle doing the "Halle Berry" on Ellen...

My Gayas Super

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:16:00 +0000

I've posted pics of this build before, but never an all encompassing shot... I was waiting till it was in its "final/complete" form. With the arrival of my new Concor this morning (the final piece), I'm happy to finally and properly introduce, my bike yo!...

Wishbone seat stay | Thomson seatpost | BFF edition Concor

A closer look at the Concor: BFF - Bicycle Film Festival

White Starfuckers on GR-9s and black Toshi doubles

Twitter Battle - Round 2 - Fight!

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:01:00 +0000

This week's Twitter Battle - "Jump Kicks At Work!". What's a Twitter Battle? Good question...

Instructions:

Challenge someone(s) on Twitter to doing something (preferably ridiculous) and call em' out with a twitpic.
Participant has to be holding the camera/phone (no 3rd party photographer help).
That's pretty much it.

With that being said, who won!? ----->>>---- VOTE HERE ----->>>

*polls are now closed, thanks for voting

Chris

^me - Joey

My friends are ill

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:14:00 +0000

The homie George hitting the bank on Main St., one of many spots on the west side.

george LAB from Beaver on Vimeo.

Oh and btw, George is an accomplished wheel builder - hooked up the twisted job on my new 650c. Head over to LAB to get yours.

And peep Cheech's new Spring edit at Mammoth, yeah boyeee!

More from Cheech and company

some pics from my iPhone...

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:38:00 +0000

beer mug on my rear hub

wishbone seat stay

sloping top tube

curvaceous seat tube

Happy Mother's Day!

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Ma! Happy Mother's Day!

cycling in the rain

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:24:00 +0000

Love, mom
^My mom emailed me this image with nothing more than the above text in the body of her note. It kills me that he's still clutching to his umbrella like it's going to help. Hilarious, totally made my Friday. Gee, thanks Mom!

BikeDay LA Photos

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:40:00 +0000

I pulled these pics from the photostreams of space15twenty and man-o-lo:

Leslie and Tina

track-stand competition

Efram with the crowd pleaser (winner, best trick)

no shortage of hipsters in LA

Fish 'n' chips

George

yours truly

Brimstone Ridaz

Sandwiches

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:11:00 +0000

One of these is pathetic, while the other, not so pathetic. I'll let you decide...

Check out Scanwiches <-- none of these are pathetic.

Empty parking lots...

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:26:00 +0000

are good to practice in.

from mobile

Seattle

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:50:00 +0000

There are many things I miss about my hometown. In no particular order, here are 12:

Breakfast at Pike Place
Thai Food on the Ave
The things you see as you work your way down to the waterfront
People watching - Westlake, Broadway, Seattle Center
Festivals - Sea Fair, Bumbershoot,The Bite of Seattle
Days spent on the lake (there are many)
Lazy weekends on Queen Anne and Green Lake
The vibe - the city has musical roots, it influences everything
Nature - You're sandwiched between the Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges, Mt. Rainier is ever-present, the trees are as big as they come, the air is crisp and water is everywhere
Dick's burger and shake
Summer - Seattle summers are the best kept secret in Northwest
Friends and family

Santa Monica Police Department

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:05:00 +0000

To all LA cyclists: SMPD is going out of their way to target 'brakeless' fixies along Main St. My buddy just got a ticket and mentioned that a passerby said he watched Officer Rosenberg (on motorcycle) issue tickets to cyclists all morning.

Here's what to do:

Gather yourself. Being an asshole doesn't help.
Educate by highlighting your compliance with how "brakes" are defined according to CA Vehicle Code 21201 and demonstrate a skid stop.
Pray the officer is not completely ignorant.

It saddens me that my first post in the month of May (bike month) is of this nature, but in the words of GI Joe, "Knowing is half the battle."

goodies

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:45:00 +0000

cranks: kazane 160mm
chainring: sugino zen 43T
pedals: gr-9
toe clips: starfuckers
straps: toshi doubles
chain: d.i.d.

twisted DT Swiss spokes | velocity deep-v 650c | milwaukee hubs

loving this setup - toshi doubles on white starfucker clips

Marina del Rey

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:53:00 +0000

I turned on the ol' Canon a630 and found a couple sleepers. These were taken from the bike path that runs along the moorage in the marina. It was one of those times when the lighting simply cooperates and you don't have to make many adjustments. I love it when that happens.

Click to go bigger, the picture quality is excellent for a point & shoot.

the magic is gathering...

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:20:00 +0000

I have nearly all the components in place for my next build. It won't be long now :)

In my room

Gayas pursuit frame
Kazane crank set & bb (160mm crank arms)
Sugino Zen chainring - 144 bcd / 43T
MKS GR-9 pedals
19T cog & lockring
Thomson seatpost

In the mail

Concor Supercorsa saddle BFF edition
Chrome 700c fork - Tange

In the LAB

Velocity wheel set: front - silver 650c | rear - black 700c
Milwaukee hubs, black
Headset (I forget what kind), silver
Toshi doubles, black
Oury grips, celeste
17 gauge aero spokes, silver and black
~~Thomson stem~~ Nitto UI-5GX

In need of

Starfucker plastic toe clips
Handlebars?

more vivitar pix

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Video: Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Danny MacAsKILL = Murder on a trials bike

couple of photos

jinf22@gmail.com (Joey Infortuno) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:46:00 +0000

before the incident...

Manhattan beach

bar spinning