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!