April’s Newsletter
Welcome to this recap for April 2023! Criterium racing, Ultra distance, the first carbon monocoque, a way more! A lot has happened on SSS.com this month, so let’s see what you’ve might have missed, and everything that happened in April, in the Slow Spin Media Group.
Stuff to Listen to…
As usual, two episodes for the Slow Spin Society Podcast this month. Starting with the recap of our Berlin trip for RadRace 2023 last Wo/Man standing. Rob, Amanda and I (Paul) had an amazing time in Berlin this year, and this is the show to know all about it.
Episode 80 was with Loz Walters! Finisher of the Pan-Celtic ultra-distance race that runs along the north of the United Kingdom! Riding thousands of kilometers on his Dolan Pre-Cursa, Loz described to us his journey to do this already incredible race…fixed gear.
This month on Deep Dish Discussion, we went back in time, and took a moment to talk about one of the greatest bicycle ever made. The Lotus 108! Mike Burrows started to shape the carbon monocoque that we all know today and an became an emblematic figure of track cycling while staying in the shadows. The Lotus 108 was also the direct cousin of the newer Lotus-Hope HB.T, and we’re only a year away from the next olympics… maybe something new coming from the UK… who knows.
We’ve talked about it a month ago. But the first Episode of Wheelhouse Sisters is finally here!
With Christine and Amanda leading this new chapter of the Slow Spin Media Group, we’re really proud to bring you something we’ve been wanting to create for quite a while!
Episode one is available now!
This month’s Patreon Special episode is yet another look at our experience in Berlin. Jack has been riding Fixed Gear for over a year and a half, and RadRace 2023 was his really first criterium.
Stepping on the track with no hesitation was the way he did it, and that’s why Rob and I wanted to hear more about how Jack felt fighting against all levels of rider, on this very tight go-kart track.
As usual, all our Patreon supporters get access to the entirety of the content we put online every week, but also to some physical goods for our top tier members.
Some Stuff to Read
If you think the race was the only reason we met in Berlin this year… you’d be wrong!
The Kolektif Bike Faire was happening that weekend, and I (Paul) am bringing you back all the delicious track bike related news I found among this ocean of derailers.
The second blog post this month is a bike-check of Soma’s Kalavinka. An NJS track bike built for the street, and one more way to build your classic steel frame.
Finally: a word from Amanda!
Hey SlowSpin fam, I hope you all enjoyed the first episode of Wheelhouse Sisters! Although I felt hella cringe at times trying to host the first episode, I’m humbled and appreciative of your support in the founding of this project. It takes guts to speak publicly about yourself, and evidence shows that women don’t take as much space in a room as men do (because of the way in which we are sociologically and culturally constructed) even though we have the qualification, experience, and some pretty darn interesting things to share and say. I am currently writing this text in a café in Manchester, UK, after spending a day listening to athletes’ stories and experiences within the sports industry, and discussing how to make it more inclusive and equal for all ethnicities and genders. I was awarded a grant from LOJIQ, a Québec non-profit organization to attend an Include Sports Summit in Manchester, where athletes and people working within the sports industry discuss topics regarding equality, diversity, and inclusivity within elite and grassroots levels of sports. Listening to many inspiring panellists, many of whom were such strong and badass women, had me leaving the event feeling inspired and motivated to continue to share my stories with you all. Taking a step and becoming a visible public figure is a courageous action but in the end, it creates open doors and more opportunities for others to follow in your footsteps. I hope the Wheelhouse Sisters podcast will not only help shed light on the female narrative and to share women’s stories and experiences, but I hope that the curated collective space that women and men can share together will bring forward a wave of more supportive and inspirational energy within the fixed gear and cycling community.
On that positive note, I’d also like to quickly share with you the details about the fixed gear crit I raced in Erfurt a couple of weeks ago. Big shoutout to Martin Wolfmann, the founder of the fixed gear team, Super Kool and organizer of the Super Kool Krit. He managed to put on a very successful event where everyone had a bangin’ time. Fixed gear teams and riders around Germany and Switzerland travelled to Erfurt to race this very fast and technical crit. The day before the race, I got a chance to meet and hang out with my teammates on my new team (Super Kool), where we had a lovely dinner at Magda restaurant. The chef cooked us a delicious and special four-course meal. If ever you are visiting the beautiful and cute city of Erfurt and want to invest a special night in a delicious restaurant, I highly recommend going. The restaurant wasn’t the only thing that was a big success that weekend. I managed to secure my spot on the podium taking second place and my teammate Selina Burch took first! The next crit I’ll be racing will be in France at La Look Crit on May 13th with (maybe the new Quokka Crit Machine?👀 ) shhhh 🤫 Have a great spring everyone, I’m looking forward to more fixed gear adventures and sharing them with you all. See ya✌
23:29… Official too late to take a picture correctly…
Thank you to this month Patrons :
Mariusfive, Diego M, Patrick K, Joey R, Saiybon, Connor.D, Sack10, Robin, F. Garcia, Kai, Tamás.S, Michael.F, Robert.C, Mathieu.H, Benoit.P, Florian.R, Honza.H, Michael.W, Jorge.K , A.Danger, Matěj.k , David.H, Corentin.M, Maurits, Ben.W, Edward.W, K C, Brad.D, Kruucks, Sheldon.S, ClarkeStreet, ChaosRide, Borntosvffer, Fixie.C , Valentin.M, Jean-Jeremy, Michel.F, Ross.W, Mtrx, Mark.H , Henryk.W, Chris.M , Femi.A, Nils.F, Yannik.B, Paul, Jbvall, Ben.W, ClarkeStreet and Jack Talbot!
Thank you for supporting us and the Slow Spin Society project.
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