I love Polaroid

So does the rest of the world. I savor every picture I take with my remaining 5 packs of the film. Well in the beginning of 2008 Polaroid decide to close factories here and abroad, thus ending the production of the coveted film. That is when a team of ex-Polaroid employees and film engineers brought it upon themselves to jump start production and bring the great film back to us in 2010. Give these guys a few minutes of your time. They have a beautifully designed website and are doing a great thing that everyone should support. "The Impossible Project"

Bikes at the Inauguration

Ride your bike in DC tomorrow for the inauguration and valet it for free! Check it out here.

Thoughts on summer...

Let's face it, its been colder than death out recently. During times of nipply weather, east coast outdoor enthusiasts tend to let their thoughts wander to the halcyon days of summertime. Let's listen to funnyman skater Jamal Smith pontificate on that very subject...

Flying Coffin Decks

It is very, very rare that I post something skate related. Nothing against it at all, I simply have limited knowledge of the activity, but I must say it looks, amazing! Such as these do,Flying Coffin and Manik have joined forces to release a limited run of decks.

Crazy vending machines aren't just for Japan any more...

In the beautiful state of Wisconsin, Trek has begun implementing its new idea to add ease and convenience to the cycling experience. Trek's new "Trek Stop" is essentially a bicycle vending machine, dispensing basic bike parts like tubes, patch kits, lube, etc. etc. Complete with a work stand, air compressor, and instructions on how to do simple repairs; these rad little kiosks are yet another way bicycles are on their way to becoming more accepted as a viable mode of transportation in the mainstream American culture.

You've had your meat now eat your veggies.

We have been "biking it" quite a bit lately. We have had a good run, Sea Otter certainly gave us some oodles of drool content. But you know here at the TractionMag HQ we are constantly trying to bring you information that we feel is pertinent to the progressive cycling culture lifestyle we boast about.
So we bring you some goodies of a different flavor, consider it mental nutrition.


MUSIC-If you have been looking to reinvigorate that suicide playlist on your iPod, your prayers have been heard. Portishead has a new album soon to be released, titled "Third." Now do not misunderstand me, I love this band and own the first two albums and some non-album tracks. They are not in the habit of squeezing out record after record. Digging on the net will drum up some samples of the new album and it is to be released in the states today. If you are slightly depressed or have a cabinet full of prescription pills you may want to skip over this gem until the cloud passes...


FILM-Yeah I'm a movie guy. Me and reality have not been getting along since Indiana first graced the screen and my love affair with celluloid has subjected my eyes to some great films and a whole lot of garbage. The latest film to really catch my radar is an offering from Barry Jenkins entitled "Medicine for Melancholy." Two hipsters in San Fran trying to find their own identity in a relatively wealthy city with a very clicky underground. Takes the one-night-stand to a whole other level.


700c-In all of the Sea Otter manure that came across our desk one of the more impressive items was only compatible with my track bike. I have been cruising around on a track bike now for about 8 years and still find it pretty damn exciting. The spin definitely helps out on the big bike and negotiating with side views at high speed, help with the mental game when it comes to the holes on Mount Snow. A company by the name of Hive decided to use the annual event to come out of the closet to the bike world. They make some big ass track hubs and very smart SS cranks.

Free Delivery

There are more and more videos being released these days. Anyone with a decent camera and a sharp eye can capture good footage. Editing that footage into something pleasing to the viewer can be a bit more challenging. "Free Delivery" is able to capture that great footage and put it together in a great package. As the name suggest the movie is completely free, allowing the viewers to download segments or the film in its entirety. It was made possible by the help of E13--Rennen Design Group--Highland Mountain Bike Park.
Lucent Productions is proud to announce the release of Free Delivery, its first full-length feature movie available to audiences worldwide on April 14, 2008 @ freedeliverythemovie.com.

Free Delivery will be available in its entirety at freedeliverythemovie.com, where viewers will be able to watch or download either individual segments or the entire movie at no cost. BNQT.com has partnered with Lucent Productions to feature certain segments of the movie in high-def format. A limited run of hard copy DVDs will also be available at freedeliverythemovie.com.

Event footage includes the 2007 US Open of Mountain Biking, the Portland stop of the Wham Bam Thank You Jam series, the 2007 Sea Otter Classic Downhill and Dual Slalom, and the UCI Mount Ste. Anne World Cup Downhill. Rider profiles include Evil Bikes team riders Seth Lolli and Joey Appleton, Dave and Lee Trumpore, and Dave Smutok.

A two-minute teaser video is now available at freedeliverythemovie.com.

Je'neve-ah

As a bike geek, I've got a love hate relationship with cars. I gotta say though, we owe at least some debt of gratitude to existing motorsport platforms of suspension technology that make our bikes work oh so well.
Interesting to remember who's making that big money. Maybe that allows advantages on several fronts of bicycling specific suspension applications?
And the bike that stole the auto show!

Are you aware?

With all this talk that was started about commuting to work I found it appropriate that we all take part in this AWARENESS TEST. It takes a keen eye to ride the mean streets on a daily basis and this test will help you ascertain your "Awareness Level". The test, devised in England by the Transport for London Organization is just one of the many ways that their city helps to encourage and educate cyclists. Isn't that nice.

Parenting 101

Is your child a drug addict, does he or she use alcohol? Does your child worship Satan? Is your child a tagger? Well with the help of this new diagram you can certainly be able to figure out the latter. This illustration was released by the Santa Ana Police Department. They are trying to get a handle on all the miscreant graffiti popping up around town. Look carefully and study the diagram, I never knew that I was a tagger. Now I can be honest with myself and my love for hoodies and come clean. Other tips include:

Your child has large quantities of “Hello My Name Is” stickers, priority mail stickers, or number or letter stickers. These stickers may have drawings or a tagging moniker written on them. These stickers are used to “slap tag.” They are slapped upon a surface and are difficult to remove and generally leave a residue.

Your child has or carries a black artist notebook that contains tagging or drawings. These books are called “bibles” or “piece books.”

On a side note, in South Baltimore a "tagger" has orange and black stripes and lives in the jungle.

Health and Happiness 4 $ale by owner

109.72

That is the going rate for the current barrel of oil. That is the highest on record. Since November when the price broke the 97-dollar mark everyday has been a record. The US dollar continues to plummet and the pump prices continue to climb, reminds me of the yodeler game on “The Price is Right” just steadily climbing and singing his tune.

So the streets should be filled with cyclists, right? Well not so much, although the numbers support an ever-growing number of Americans commuting to work, it could certainly be a lot higher. China has the highest number of reported bicycle commuters, 77% of the population. The Netherlands reports 50% of residents use pedal power to get to work. Japan squeezes out 15% and the US can only brag about 1.6% of the population.
Yes, that is quite a bit smaller than the others and smaller than most of us would like.

So if and when gas reaches $5.35 a gallon, anger and frustration will create awareness and solutions. The streets will overflow with cyclists and bicycle racks will ooze with the very vehicle that can produce a healthier lifestyle. We will see a mild reduction in the obesity rate; bicycle shops will be as plentiful as keno machines and liquor stores. You will awake to the alarm clock and the morning traffic report. “…a 3 bike pile up on the express path has got traffic tied up in both directions, a detour has been setup on the Westside sidewalk…” Work will be so much more productive all your co-workers will smile and the boss will surprisingly not have that chip on his shoulder that you got so accustomed to. You will leave work and have to fetch your ride out of the multi-floor parking garage adjacent to your building. Trying to remember where you parked you will eyeball your fellow co-workers new handlebars and fork. The ride home will be filled with riders yapping on cell phones and not looking when they change lanes. Advertisements of families riding new fangled bicycle models will clog our primetime airwaves and ESPN will air the entire World Cup circuit. Leaving ESPN 2 and 3 to merely show the highlights of all the stick and ball sports that took place the week before. As you rest your weary eyes your face will be washed in the warmth of happiness, a future of health, wealth and fulfillment will etch vivid dreams in to your subconscious.

When you awake cold-blooded reality will greet you, gas will be 6 bucks a gallon, traffic will make you late for work and you will get a parking ticket around noon for not catching the meter in time.

Park the car and pedal the bike, give it a shot. It will suck in the beginning but after the first week or two, you will smile, I guarantee you will smile.

bikecommutetips.blogspot
bikecommuters.com
commutebybike.com
bicyclesource.com

Two Wheeled Podcasts

No question that iTunes has changed the way we buy music today. It is also attempting to change the way we buy and view movies and videos. They recently launched a new facet to the program that enables users to download newly released movies and view them on your computer and or TV. The action sports industry has taken note of the advances and decided to jump in. Video Action Sports, who distributes and produces many sports titles including 90 percent of the MTB flicks, is now offering downloads of their popular video catalog. For 2 bucks you can download New World Disorders, Chain Reactions and Eartheds. Quality is high and the ability to toss it onto your iPod or other gadget will make those airport delays and road trips a little bit more enjoyable.

Video podcasts are another great way to get lost of new bike footage for free. The Atherton’s have a regular Commencal Animal podcast highlighting past races and ride sessions. Big names like Yeti, Norco, DC, Etnies, Charge Bikes, We The People and Square One are all apart of the podcast revolution. Log on!

Sheldon Brown

Some sad news brought to our attention. Sheldon Brown passed away on February 3rd of a heart attack brought on by his fight with multiple sclerosis. Sheldon Brown was a proficient mechanic a collector of bicycle data and all around bicycle guru.

Nitro Circus "Thrillbillies"

The East Coast is home to much of the history of this country. It also happens to be the home of Travis Pastrana. As most of you should know Pastrana is a MX phenom and Freestyle pioneer.
He has dabbled in rally cars and monster trucks and even film making. The Nitro Circus series of films documents all the bad decisions one can make with a throttle. Pastrana friend and TractionMag associate Jim Dechamp put us on a very elite list to help ring in the newest film "Thrillbillies. The premier is this Sunday in Annapolis, Maryland and if you are in the area and need an adrenaline fix, you now where to get it. Full report and insane party pics to come. I believe the term is "wideopen".
Thrillbillies Trailer

Be Kind Rewind

Michele Gondry makes some of the most visually stimulating films. He has created videos for Bjork, Massive Attack and the White Stripes. You can always be guaranteed a smile and laugh when watching his work. It feels as if you instilled the technical know-how of film making into the innocent raw vision of a child.

His movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep and the famed Dave Chappelle’s Block Party all encompass his sense of wonder and youth. His new film starring Mos Def and Jack Black is titled “Be Kind Rewind” I won’t give you the synopsis, you will just have to watch the trailer and see for yourself.

Get Dirty!

For all you fools without a clue, this post is for you. "Dirt" magazine is my favorite magazine in the world. It is to mountain bikers what "Penthouse" is to perverts or "High Times" is to hippies. They fill the issues with brilliant words and glorious pictures. They have great product reviews, a special love for Peaty and that queer way of spelling "colour". You gotta love it. They were pumping out issues every two months for years and finally pulled the trigger on a monthly status a few months back. I braced myself for a little content drop or some lame filler. But not these guys, they found even more interesting articles to write and even more kick-ass photos to print. They keep us in tune to the bicycle world around us, they pull our borders closer and give us a close up view of the goodies and people we enjoy. To make it better for us Yankees, they have a U.S. distributor, IMS News. Located just south of the TractionMag World Headquarters in Virginia. No excuses now, you have been instructed on the benefits and paved a path. Get dirty and subscribe, get your finger on the pulse of mountain biking.

Thank you Dirt

Help me , Help you...

I fully embrace pop culture and the vernacular that is intertwined within it, to deny one is to deny the other. I get it. I'm hip, I'm down, no need for a tutor here, class has been in session since "Krush Groove" was a hit. All right I may have lost half of you with a dated analogy such as that. My point, which I was not making, is that verbal subculture is just that "subculture" to see in mass media is to expose it for the lame, lazy speech we all know it is deep down. To see it out of context is to laugh at every high-fivin scenario we have ever put ourselves in. Slang is worthless without proper speech. All I ask keep in under the radar; don't bring it up for air because it really makes you and us look stupid.
Case in point:

Viva Las Vegas

In a drunken stupor you awake to find your clothes missing and a strange hotel room with passed out strippers strewn about. Don't panic, just take a deep breath and relax you have plenty of time to update your website with new bike offerings from Interbike.

With the end of the race season comes Interbike, ushering in all the new must-haves for the next years riding. It’s a good time to connect with friends lament on times past and get your dollars full of baby oil and glitter. For those of you who have never made the trip, it is one filled with a mix of emotions. The show offers everything your little heart desires for two wheels, the Demo day lets you test pilot a bevy of expensive steeds and the location lends it self to parties and mayhem. But after a few days the walk around the convention floor begins to make your dogs bark, the new product loses its luster the electro shock from the carpet annoys you and prices for alcohol kill your wallet. But hey that is the nature of Vegas “in and out” just enough to make an impression and then another year of work and riding. We will try to keep you abreast of the situation so that you can be all the rage at the water cooler with your new bicycle product wizardry. If we seem a little slow just remember, we have just woken up in a strange room with strippers and chaos, it may just take a few minutes to catch our bearings and deliver the goods to you.

They hate our Freedom

Those crazy canucks are at again with some zany antics! Kind of beat us to the punch? Not to mention the story on page 22! Macleans

Ken Goto

I have been a fan of Ken Goto's work for some time now. He captures skate like few others, more engulfed by the characters that participate then the action itself. This love of portraits has breathed quite a bit of life into his portfolio from snapping beautiful images of skater-actor Jason Lee or brutally honest pics of Mobb Deep star Prodigy. His site features a good selection of works Ken Goto Photography