Evan Venditti

Posts from Evan:

Bike on bike action

Sometimes the job calls for two bikes, if so, here is a brief description of how I fashioned a bicycle carrier for the rear of my road bike. A bike with rack eyelets will make the job much easier, but any bike will do as long as a rear cargo rack can be installed.
This, like most things, is open for interpretation, this is how I did it. It started a front wheel carrier for a auto roof rack, basically flat stock aluminum mock fork that holds up to a 700c wheel. To attach this to the axle I purchased a DT Swiss 145mm quick release skewer to replace the old skewer(130mm). For the up rights I used 1/2 aluminum tubing(Lowes, etc…) and mounted them using 1/2″ rubber coated steel straps bolted to the reflector hanger at the rear center of the rack. At the lower portion I drilled and bolted to each side of the wheel carrier with the same straps. Keep in mind the lower this unit sits the better it will handle. Now for the anchor, a peice of alum. hollow square stock bolted to the end of the wheel carrier as a base for the fork anchor to sit on. The fork anchor can be purchased from any bike shop, they are used on roof racks, to hold bikes up in the back of a pickup truck, etc. The anchor bolts down the the top of the flat stock, and that is pretty much it, take your front wheel off, plug it in, and roll. Check hardware for tightness frequently and enjoy.

For photos from this creation check out this Article!

The Same rack system works on a moped as well…

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Bikes check: Jason Stieg

Jason Stieg is responsible for one one the most influential trails scenes to date… PUSH trails(RIP). These days he can be found cruising aroung Pittsburg, PA on a couple different different two wheelers, lets check them out…

Jason Stieg, 36, Plumber, Pittsburgh, PA

What is it? ’06 Harley Street BOB

Miles? 10,000

Any mods? Cut the rear fender and moved the liscense plate, custom pipes, 16″ bars, aftermarket sissy bar(doubles as a bmx bike rack) and I stole these cattle horns from Leland Thurman

Longest ride? Probably this one, about a 1000 miles (PA to NC)

Frame? FBM Anthem 21″

Fork? Odyssey Dirt

Bars? Uhhhh, what are they… S&M Berringers?

Cranks? Profile

Wheels? Odyssey

Who cares about the small stuff… look at the picture. It was clear Jason hadn’t been caught up in the hype of having all the newest gear, he rode what worked and it was clear by his mash up of parts spanning the last 15 years. The massive Tioga comp 3 up front and the fact that he hadn’t had 9t cassette driver until days before this interview, reinforce to the old saying…”if it aint broke, dont fix it.”

Keep posted in the upcoming weeks, as we will be working on several additional ‘Bikes Checks’, and email us if you have anything to add…

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Motoscumming Across America!

Most people don’t even think about riding their motorcycle in the winter, but Brad “Puck” Byrne deciced to ride his CB1000 cross country in search of warmer temperatures, good friends, and good times… in the dead of winter. I caught up with Puck the day of his departure and asked him a couple questions…

Year/make/model– 1994 Honda CB1000, 59,200

Is that considered a crotch rocket? No, it’s a naked street bike

Any mods? Not really, shit strapped all over with bungees, FBM double Fister grips, an internal handlebar storage unit…

Why are you riding cross country in January? Because it’s cold as shit in VA and I want to head somewhere warm, I decided to quit my job and that happened to be in the winter, and Id like to make it to South By Southwest in Austin (isn,t that in April!?!)

Cross country by way of? Atlanta, Nola, Austin, the desert, Pheonix, San Diego. Maybe a quick stop in Mexico… Id like to smuggle an immigrant or two

Essential travel item? Cameras. Pics or it didn’t happen.

Puck loaded up headed out, with the temerature at a crisp 32 degrees, towards a gun show in rural VA. You can keep up with his travels at Pucks Not Dead dot com.

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Ridin Dirty

Evan Venditti shot this photo gallery on a recent trip to New Orleans for a Black Label Bicycle event. The photos say it all, really…

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Traveling Light LeastMost Style

When invited to a wedding in Key West I immediately knew the best way to get there… by bike! It would take at least a week and a half to pull the full ride, having a job and modern day obligations, that is hard to fit in. So I phoned my bud Andy and we came up with a better hybrid idea… fly to Miami, meet at the airport, assemble our bikes in the parking lot, and ride south through the keys.

Andy chose to travel lightly via backpack.

This is it.

Packed lightly… wedding attire, spare t-shirt, toothbrush, cell charger, sunglasses, and the clothes on my back. Those “touring” bikes with giant bags hanging off every tube for short trips in populated areas are the cycling equivalent to a giant Winnebago towing an SUV on the way to the campground.

Locals had some pretty leisurely rides, I would to if I lived in paradise… wait, I do.

The views were amazing, at times it felt like we were in the middle of the ocean stranded on an island… that would be nice. At one point Andy is changing a flat a couple miles out on a bridge, we both look over the rail and a massive green sea turtle crests out of the water, looks at us for a moment, then crested back into the depths. There was no shortage of motivation for the ride.

If you have been to and partied in Key West, you already know it is completely insane. If you haven’t been, you should fix that.

-Besides the distractions of the excessive tourism, the  keys are simply put… beautiful. Enjoy the view, wherever you might be.

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Two Holes

Its always refreshing when you meet a new person whom takes a part of their day just to create something funny or interesting with no payment, only because they enjoy it and want to share a piece of that with you. Frank is one of those people, hustling about town doing food deliveries via bicycle, playing music, hanging with friends, and creating something to share. Check out his blog Two Holes are better than one … where he shotguns a different beverage every day in 2010!
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River Boat Gambling part 3

Here is part 3 of the DIY river boat series, be on the look out for a photo gallery and the full video shortly.
Click Here for part 1 and Part 2.

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River Boat Gambling Part 2

Continued from Part 1

The next week was spent sometimes completely isolated from the hustle and bustle of this day and age. We spent long days paddling , making our way farther and farther down river, only taking breaks for the increasingly stronger incoming tides, all the while, having a time.

Random log entries from the crew…

‘Day 1-Slow floating, fast towing thanks to rick, Debbie, Debbie, and PeeWee. Made it to Dutch Gap. Ate pork and beans, drank some whiskey, sleep.’ -Brian

‘This river gets sketchy at night’ -Jay

‘I’m going to kill you, survive you and kill you again’ -redneck boater

‘Day 2-Woke up to 30 vultures peering at us, Dutch Gap, potatoes, dried eggs and coffee too’-Evan

‘Walking vine fine as strawberry wine. S.S. We don’t give a shipwreck. I ate a hot dog today but it’s ok because I’m on vacation. April towed us as far as she could until the tide started to flow against us, damn near pulled the boat apart. Shit got hectic for a second. Tied up to a cable ferry at Turkey Island until the river flowed our way again. I’m the type of sista that knows a drink is not an engagement ring. Handled our first industrial wake courtesy of the Johnny Clay. This river is going to push us wherever it wants. You can do your best, hold your course, paddle your ass off if you want, but she’s gonna pull you downstream however she wants, just float.’-Kitt

‘Outa the can into the man, major rager, LIFE’S A BEACH, BITCH’-Franny

‘Day 3- City Point, Hopewell. Crossed the channel early dodging a 300+ ft.tanker and tugboat. Boats are getting bigger and we can’t fight the incoming tides, taking a break at low tide 1:00 pm, leave with high tide at 7:45pm. Going on a walk to try and find a cold beverage.’-Evan

‘Day 4- Crabby Mikes marina. Girl got pissed at us this morning(for staying at the marina) Slept on a million dollar yacht(sick). Ashley brought us a trolling motor, now we are covering a lot of grou… water. 3 bottles of wine for breakfast, super chill day on the James.’-Jay

‘Passed same tanker as yesterday and his little brother, safe distance, good sight. Dropped the trolling motor, working great, looking for spots to pirate power for recharge. Slept on a pontoon boat lifted out of the water,found vodka and V8 in the cupboard, bloody mary! Police came and we played the freeze game, worked out fine.’-Evan

‘Day 1 for me. Deciced to call in to work and ditch the food stamp interview, good decision. Never been on a boat trip before, exited, good tunes and good dudes.Saw a bush that looked like giant bear and a bug that looked like it was wearing armor and had a mean sting. Snpped a picture of it.’-Ashley

‘Feels like we are lost in the Pacific somewhere exotic. We are saving fish bones and scraping the bugs off our food., all the while the Richmond traffic report still comes in on the radio. It took Ashley and Abbie 30 min. to drive to us last night.’-Kitt

‘Walked some miles through corn and soybean fields on a big ass plantation, ran into Franny and Kitt, also exploring and teamed up to find a store, walked a total of about ten miles, rewarded with 24 beers, 5 packs of cigarettes, sodas, pretty sights, and came back to a sweet fire. I also learned that feed corn tastes gross. Also rocked out hard to Baba-O-Reily’-Ashley

‘Last night we decided to use the tide to our advantage, so there we are making great progress, not noticing that we drifted right into the channel, which is a no-no. We were keeping a good watch, all the paddlers watching the bow and Evan was on the trolling motor watching stern. Everything is cool, all the sudden ‘Tug boat coming up behind us, fast!’ Tugboat pushing a barge heading straight for us. Things got real serious in a hurry. Motor on full with no regard for battery life, making a B line for shore, paddling our ass off. They got close enough to put the spot light on us, made it by 50 yards maybe.’-Kitt

Going Nowhere Slow Part 2 from Least Most on Vimeo.

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Going Nowhere Slow

For a few years I had thought it would be funny to float down the James river to a friends house, about 120 miles away, just to stop in and hang out. Originally thinking of taking a canoe or john boat, one or two more people, a bike or skateboard, and some supplies. The idea never really materialized because of time constraints, a very open ended schedule, and most importantly, lack of a decent vessel.

Early summer 2009, I found myself thinking more seriously about the trip, studying maps and tidal charts, and making loose plans with a few friends. By mid July construction had begun, I attached a trailer to my moped and began scouring the alley ways for, well… anything. Using headboards, scrap wood, garden lattice, etc…the boat was constructed from all found materials with the exception of 4, new 2X4’s for the main chassis, and two boxes of deck screws. After gathering a crew we packed minimally with dry foods, bottled water, some tooling and construction supplies for repairs, one dry bag each for personals, and some wine and whiskey. once the boat was packed and finished there was only one thing left to do… test the boat. After consulting the crew we decided to not test the ship and just assume it floated, earning its name, The S.S. Educated Guess.

We arrived early on launch day just in case, but we should have slept in, it floated just as we thought it would, dialed. We left while the high tide was creeping back out to sea for a weeks adventure on the James, it was a perfect day with high supposed to reach the low 100’s. The first day was full of paddling for hours and swim breaks in between, and a quite a few drinks, we had a lot to celebrate, it actually floated.

To be continued…
Part 2 right here

Here’s Part 1 of the Adventure on video….

Riverboat Gambling from Least Most on Vimeo.

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The Spoils of the Road

A summer journey covering hundreds of miles through Virginia and North Carolina with bmx bikes in tow.

The route:

A few summers back I took a bike trip with a couple friends through rural Virginia and North Carolina. Like any bicycle trip we set out to enjoy the open road free of worries and full of possibilities, only this time we each brought something to help us enjoy the spoils of the road… our BMX bikes.

With some camping gear, our “little” bikes rigged to the back of our “big” bikes, and a rough idea of where we are going, we set out for a few weeks of bike riding. For the most part our destinations were skateparks, friends, or campgrounds but making a point to take the scenic route there.

We rode through forty mile straight-aways never seeming to end,  through beautiful beaches and tidal waterways, through wooded roads with logging trucks screaming by, through forgotten small towns stopping to grab a bite from a local vendor, into bustling cities much like home, all the while towing these ‘little’ bikes.

In Virginia Beach, Jason managed to get 13 flats in a day, the last being a mile from the skate park so he switched bikes and towed the ‘big’ bike, a plus to having two bikes any where you go. In Greenville a few puzzled locals asked us …”why?” In who knows where NC a puzzled country boy asked…”where do y’all take showers?” I simply replied… “in showers.” 

On the Pamlico Sound we watched bushels of crab being unloaded from a boat, the crew offered up some of the catch, but it was early in the hot summer day and they would have spoiled. 

While camping we realized we had no bowl to make dinner so we lined a skate helmet with a plastic bag and had chili. One morning in rural NC, a maid told us we should pray for a place to sleep that night. We ended up stuck in a rainstorm and retreated to a church’s covered playground. In Charlotte, NC a friend led us to a backyard pool built by Wally Holiday, the owner was a wild sculptor/skater/father and let people come over on Saturdays, heavy shredding that day.

At times we would go for days without removing the BMX’s from tow but well worth it once we arrived at our destination or found something “wild” on the road. 

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