Ft. Lauderdale, hitting the front page!

Ft. Lauderdale bike polo, and the All Florida Bike Polo Championships, were featured on the front page of the Lifestyle section of the Sun Sentinel today! The article starts on the front page, and follows up a few pages in.
You can read it here!

Bike polo: How to play the blended sport - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Bike polo: How to play the blended sport - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

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Bike Polo Banned, once again.

This past weekend was the All Florida Bike Polo Championship held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Bike polo players from all over Florida came to have fun, eat food, and play their friends. The Ft. Lauderdale community was complimented hundreds of times over the weekend for having such amazing courts, and beautiful park to play in. The weekend went smoothly with no injuries, no drinking, and no trash whatsoever at the park.


On Tuesday evening, we showed up to Holiday Park only to find that the lights were turned off, and our cones were in the middle of the court. Asking the park ranger why the lights weren't on, his response was "because you're not playing anymore." 


The FTL bike polo players have been playing at Holiday continuously, 2-3 times a week, for over a year now. We've had no complaints other than "open containers" but it is never the bike polo players, only spectators on bicycles. The bike polo players brought this unused court back to life, and now it's been taken away. 


The city has never complained about bike polo in general. Their reason now is "as of November 10th, 2009, it is $20 per hour for the permit for the court, and another $40 per hour for lights." A total of $60 per hour to use, otherwise unused, roller hockey courts. The All Florida tournament was held on December 5th and 6th, just about a month after the permits came into act. 


If you have any references, stories, or legal help for us, please write to me! FTL will not go down without a fight!


communitymallets@yahoo.com

Help save our courts!

All Florida Bike Polo Championship Re-Cap

This past weekend was the All Florida Bike Polo Championship held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. There were a total of 15 teams from all over Florida competing for the golden mallet. 

The Florida polo community really came together on this one! 

1. Polo Furies (FT Lauderdale)- each won wheelsets from eighthinch
2. Jose Marti (Tampa) - each won wheelsets from Giant & swag
3. Sarasota (Sarasota) - bike parts from Alien bikes & swag
4. Duvalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll (aka Cherri and the Rockettes - Jacksonville) -swag bags
5. Boner Jamz (Ft Lauderdale) - swag bags
6. TampaSoda (Tampa & Sarasota)
7. TallaNasty (Tallahassee-Ft Lauderdale)
8. TallaClassy (Tallahassee)
9. Fists of Beer (Sarasota)
10. Oreo (Ft Lauderdale-Orlando)
11. Stash Infection (Ft Meyer)
12. Bob Saget (Ft Meyer)
13. Jungle Jams (Ft Meyer)
14. Mouths of Velvet (Ft Meyer) - official DFL
15. El Chupacabra (Ft Lauderdale)

MVP: Seth aka Noodlehead, FTL- won a pair of Velocity Chukkers
DFL: Mouths of Velvet, Ft. Meyers- t-shirts from knog & Milwaukee Bicycle Co.
Top Losers Bracket: TampaSoda, Tampa/Sarasota- used frame from getridofmybike.com & shirts from Heart of Gold
Most Valuable Goalie: Kelli, FTL- won a pologaurd from Milwaukee Bicycle Co.
Best Co-ed team: Jungle Jamz, Ft. Meyers- hip bags from aable.me & Burro Bags
Special recognition Female: Valeri, Sarasota- handmade jacket from Headset Clothingheadsetclothing.com 

City with most teams- Ft. Meyers- won a mallet bag from Pikey Bags
Top Goals Scored, Males: Jared, Pete, Danny, Stu
Top Goals Scored, Females: Amanda, Sam, Kelli, Cherri- won wallets from aable.me

All Florida love.

Tallahassee handing over the golden mallet to Ft. Lauderdale.

comolove

Video from the Midwest Champeenships 7

This lady had it right.

Ladies of Bike Polo

Will kick your dicks off.

<3

(Photos taken at the New Orleans Open Tournament)

The number of women in the Hardcourt Bike Polo community is growing, and so is my love for the sport. These fierce ladies are sprinting down court with the guys, stealing balls from their boyfriends, and are sure to have the gnarliest legs around! 

Keep encouraging!

video fixxx.

BFF polo tournament- paris 2009 -clip HD (v.02) from Uolmo on Vimeo.

A video from the BFF tournament in Paris. Thanks Marc & Clemente!

Bike Polo Work Sample from Leah Michelle Ross on Vimeo.

Love the Austin crew!

It's been a long time since I left you...

Although this blog has been dull lately, the poloverse has not!

The New Orleans Hardcourt Bike Polo Open was so much fun! The first day there was rain, but still great playing. The second day, after hours of intense games, Austin, Tx, Hymen I'm Home, took first.

In second place was Big Red, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Third was Como Polo, Columbia, MO.

The thing I love about Bike Polo is how these hundreds of people from all across the World are like one big extended family. We might not call, write, or bake each other cakes on birthdays, but we can be sure we'll see each other at tournaments all over, and let the shit talk commence!

Heart of Gold Events:

In these upcoming weeks, there are some alley cat races going on that should be beyond fun. Please go to them if you can!

This is race my friend Randon is putting on in Philly. Should be pretty ridiculous and fun!

Race in Orlando, FL by dear Mooj. Who doesn't like Harry Potter?!

Sunshine State Polo

Attention Floridians!

Ft. Lauderdale is honored to host the All Florida Bike Polo Championship this year! It's going to be so much fun, and a fight for the glory. You can check out all the info here.

Also, there will be an Midnight Alley Cat after the games Saturday night! Hosted by www.southfloridafixed.com

BFF Tournament Re-Cap

BFF Bike Polo Tournament - Paris

The morning of the tournament, the main thing I noticed: Marc pacing around like a madman. A sure sign that this was going to be a great tournament. 

The tournament started off with familiar faces from cities all over over Europe hugging, sharing coffee, and going over the rules. 

6 groups of 6 teams played all day between two courts. The main court in a school yard was perfect. The second court a few streets away was a little shady (slippery & those annoying barriers!) but people still seemed to have fun on it anyway. At the end of the day, 2 teams from each group were eliminated. 

All the games on the second day were great. The bracketing moved along pretty quickly and soon enough, we were down to the last few teams. The final game in the shadows of the night ,was L'equipe (Geneva) against Apologies Accepted. The atmosphere of the crowd was amazing as everyone cheered, boo'ed, heckled, and did the wave (that's right) while L'equipe won!

1. L'equipe (Manuel the Magician, Mario, and Lucas) from Geneva, Switzerland

2. Apologies Accepted (Marc, Luis, and Adam) Paris, France (& Manchester)

3. Poloholics Toros (Pablo, Eddy, and Andreas) Munich, Germany

4. Malice (Matt, Iain, and Andy) London, England

5. Dans Ta Gueule, Puceau (Hugo, Pierre and Kevin) Paris, France & 'Metz, Schindel and Söhne (Thomas, Max, and Holger) Karlsruhe, Germany. 

It was so amazing to meet up with everyone from all the communities we've visited. I'm really going to miss everyone!

Thank you Marc, Luis, Stephan, and everyone else that made this tournament happen. 

No brake, no life!

My photos from the tournament. 

3 More Days....

Get excited!! This tournament is going to rule. 

Ta-Ta

Karlsruhe, Germany

Europeans ask, "Why the hell did you go to Karlsruhe?" and Americans ask, "Where the hell is Karlsruhe?" 

Karlsruhe is in South West Germany. Birthplace of Karl Drais, who invented the precursor of the bicycle! This city is designed much like a wheel, the center holds a beautiful castle and the streets are like spokes extending from the center.

We had no idea where to go, but the bike polo gods were on our side, and we ran into Hannes from the Candy Colored Clowns, and he gave us all the info. These guys are a group of about 12-15, and have a few different courts to play on. 

Their first court has no lights so they move down to this unique, warm, and really fun court when the sun goes down. It's 2 stories underground in parking garage and really, could be made into several courts!

All the people in the bike polo community are really amazing people, and players. They told us about all the unique spots to visit, good places to eat (Kaesespaetzle!), and amazing 6-hour polo sessions. 

FIXIE Inc.

Another thing Karlsruhe is a home to is FIXIE Inc!

So all you cool kids on your urban fixed gear bike, let it be known, FIXIE Inc was the first!

These two awesome dudes, Holger and Recep, were really refreshing to meet and get to know. "Innovative" doesn't even do justice to what these guys are up to! The wheels are always turning with these guys and the outcome is looking up.

Both of these guys play polo, and really contributing to the polo world with their knowledge and resource. Jared and I have been testing their mallets the past few weeks, and we are more than happy with them. Coming to a US tournament near you soon...

Thank you Hannes, Recep, Holger, Steffan, Thomas, Max, Alex, and everyone in Karlsruhe who made this our favorite spot in Europe!

Karlsruhe Bike Polo

More photos from Karlsruhe here!

Merci

Geneva, Switzerland

Our trip to Geneva: chocolate, cheese, polo, baguettes, espresso, polo, chocolate, polo, cheese, and chocolate.

10 minutes after arriving at the train station in Geneva, we found the polo.

Just a short ride from the train station, the Geneva polo courts are in a beautiful part of the city, right on the water with the mountains in the backdrop. They played a special day knowing we would be arriving, and the day was perfect.

The Geneva polo players are quick, highly skilled, and quite the hosts. Jared and I have been trying to play all the different cities, USA vs. ______ 2 on 2, or 2 on 3. We've taken a few cities so far, but no chance with Geneva. Our day trip for a little match against Berne was another story :)

L'Equipe has made quite a name for themselves, winning the 2009 European Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship in London August 2, 2009. Unfortunately, they were eliminated into the second day at the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship in Philadelphia last month. I think they would have done much better if one of their players frame wasn't broken because of the opposing team playing quite dirty...

The days we were able to play polo in Geneva, there were about 8 dudes, 1 lady, and 1 elementary aged child! (The future of bike polo!) All really, really great players. Very friendly, no disputes.

If you want good, clean, challenging bike polo...get your ass to Geneva.

Thank you Manuel, Clemonte, and everyone else that helped us out, and showed us a good time.


More photos from Geneva here!

You think your game is good?

Get on this level.

Mierda

Barcelona, Spain

Arriving into Barcelona was hectic, to say the least. We were sick of the trains, the streets were flooded with a festival, and the only thing on our mind was polo...

We found the courts, took a nap on the park benches that surround the perfect circle court, and woke up to the local Barcelona players skidding into the park.  All welcomed us with open arms, and mallets to borrow.

Their courts, La Aspirina, are in central Barcelona. One of the most unique courts I have seen being a circle, in a pit, and a very slippery surface due to some dirt on the courts.

The guys (yes, only guys) have been playing for just about 9 months now, starting in January 2009. Everyone (as of now) are riding fixed, about half brakeless. Some friends in the fixed gear community spread the word about bike polo, and now they are hooked.

Their first mallets were made with wooden heads, and were really heavy. They lasted about a month and now their mallets are looking pretty good.

Since the addiction, they play three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). I think the one thing this polo community is lacking is some ladies!

They've formed a few teams within their community now, and are hoping to "do something" at the Bicycle Film Festival Bike Polo Tournament in Paris Oct 16th. They only have one tournament under their belt, so hopefully you will be hearing about these boys after Paris....

 

Barcelona's fixed gear boutique, "My Beautiful Parking"   You can seriously find anything you would need/want for a fixed gear, or single speed bike. Gorgeous completes, parts, wheels, etc. all for a really affordable price. This shop also doubles as a "parking garage" for bicycles. Bicycle theft is sadly growing in Barcelona, and this is a safe way to store your bicycle. You can even rent a fixed gear bike if you come to visit Barcelona bike-less!

While on a night ride with the local "trick" dudes in Barcelona, they brought us to this gem. Famous in BMX videos, (not sure what this spot is called though) I can see why one could spend all night here.

Barcelona Bike Polo

El Polodromo 

Calle Aragon 446 

Barcelona, Spain

More photos from Barcelona here!

COMOSEXUAL - From July 16th, 2009

For the past 6 days, I spent my time in Columbia, Missouri AKA COMO.

Who would have thought this small Missouri town could have so much to offer?

The main downtown area is filled with vegan/vegetarian restaurants, eco-friendly shops, book stores, many coffee shops, and much more.

One of my favorite places to eat in town is Main Squeeze, locally owned vegan foods and smoothies. Also, the Lavender Honey ice cream at Sparky's, yum!

Another place that blew me away was RagTag Cinema, another locally owned place that is a three-in-one gem. The cinema consists of two theaters containing couches, and showing a variety of indie films, and documentaries that you wouldn't find in a big theater.

They allow food and drink from the bakery in front of the theater! Baked goods, full bar, coffee, etc. On the other side of this, is an independent movie store. Filled with all the regular movies, classics, anime, documentaries, foreign films, and quite a VHS collection! All for rent (really cheap!), and some for sale.

BIKE COMMUNITY

There are two main bike shops, Walts, and Klunk (lots of recycled bikes, awesome owner/employees helped us out a lot).

The Como Bike Polo group is astonishing. On a regular night, about 20 people show up. There are about 10 girls that play regularly, and have all-girl games, all night.

They play 3 times a week, from 7 until usually 11. Twice a night on top of a parking garage, and once at a roller hockey court.

Needless to say...these guys are good. They play hard all night, hanging out in-between games, the usually bike talk, and usually all end up going out together later in the night. 

The main thing I admire about this community (besides their sick polo skills), is they truly are a community. They knock on each others door to borrow bike parts, hang out outside of bike related events, organize trips to the polo tournaments even though they have little-to-no money, and get together to make mallets. They even gathered anything they could from their houses to put on a yard sale to raise money for the Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Tournament in Denver.

They all opened up their arms and houses to me and Jared all week. They showed us around town, introduced us to some amazing people outside of the bike polo community, and showed us the best dumpsters.

Some random pictures from the trip:

Riding skatepark in Kirksville. No bikes allowed, but fuck them! A skatepark is meant for people (more importantly kids) to have something to do besides get into trouble, drugs, etc. I guess skateboarders are the chosen ones.

Farm in Memphis, MO.

Yeehawww.

Riding in the combine. I felt like Pauly Shore in Son-In-Law. I really wanted to write my name in the wheat field.

Creepy basement.

This was probably the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Check out the polo mallet in dudes hand. Yes! Imagine seeing this sex machine rolling by you. Shortest shorts.

Oh hai, bicycle. (You look totally different now.)

Some of my sidewalk chalk art. Don't hate.

Playing in shady places.

Thank you Nick, Drew, Charlie, Megan, Chris, Brian, Aimee, Julia, Liz, Tim, Colleen, T-Bone, Wayman, Maggie, Pete, and anyone else that made this trip memorable!