MILWAUKEES PREMIER BIKING MAGAZINE

02Know your Rig

KNOWHOW

04Flavorcycle

EATING

COMMUNITY 18Milwaukee BC

10MKE BKE UBR

PLAYING

08Alley Cat

RACE

25Ask the Riders

INTERVIEW

Get to know the local delivery service that is run and provided by the local biking community of our own Milwaukee.

Get down and dirty with the Milwaukee Bicycle Collective, while increasing your knowledge as well as helping the community.

Unwind and ride free by learning about and joining along with the Milwaukee Underwear Bike rides, that take place three times a yr.

To inform individuals of organizations & events, that take place in Milwaukee & to encourage their participation as well as celebrate the results of those who have committed.

Our Goal

Molly Lefeber PhotographerIlana Green Illustration

Main Feature

Featured ArtistsA Personal Account

01

WORSE COMES TO WORSEIF REPLACEMENT IS NECESSARY

Stem & Steer Tube

The feater set for this month is the

stem and steer tube. This is one of

the more complicated aspects of DIY

mechanics that may only be second

to the axle and hub assemblies. The

more complicated aspects of this fix is

remembering the order of components

as well as which components to grease

for smooth transitions while riding.

When it comes to the actual assembly,

its important to note to start at the

top by releasing the Pre-Load Bolt and

the Top Cap. These are the two parts

that are holding everything together.

After removing all the spacers and

bearings and stem (make sure to keep

these in order) you’ll most likely need

a hammer. The steer tube components

take a lot of weight and torque while

riding so they tend to wedge in place,

and can be very difficult to remove.

Tap the top of the steer tube with

the hammer until it becomes free. Be

careful because this is the point in time

If we had to pick one new name who

are making waves on the bearing front,

it’s German brand Acros. The fact

they’re regularly considered alongside

Chris King and Hope on forums shows

the quality reputation the brand are

getting. The lettering on our white

sample is less crisp than we’d expect

and it’s slightly heavy, if 10g really

matters.. But apart from that, alls good.

The huge crown race (where most of

the weight is) makes for easy removal

and complete protection from muck

coming up underneath. The well

greased red labyrinth seals top and

bottom, plus a captured steerer O-ring,

keep f i l th out . The s t a in less s tee l

bear ings are impress ive ly smooth

and res i s t long-term mois ture

corros ion , a l lowing Acros to of fer a

f ive-year guarantee .

Hammer - Screwdriver - Wrench - Hex Key

GEAR BOX

when every bottom component falls

out of the steer tube and all over the

f loor. I recomend removing the front

rim off the fork ahead of time and

having the fork close to the ground.

That way when it releases, the fork hits

the ground and all the compents are

still in pace, for you to gather.

03

GREASING

PART APPLICATION

STEER TUBE

STEMSPACER

SPACER

PRE-LOAD BOLT

BEARING

CUP

TOP COVER

STAR NUT

FORK BEARING

CUP

CROWN RACE

When reassembling the

steer tube components its

important to remember to

grease certian parts. The

greasing of these parts will

allow for better rideing

experience and more

consistant cornering.

The most notable parts to

lube up before the ride are

the Crown-Race, and both

the bottom and top Cup.

The Crown-Race is where

most of the preasure is

applied when riding. And

the bottom and top Cup

is what is covering all the

compents inside of the

steertube, which leaves

them exposed to the

elements. Things like very

small rocks, dir t, rain, and

snow can make these Cups

stick! So grease up and

enjoy the ride!

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Dependable delicious deliveryIs the tagline for Flavor Cycle, which brings food from various Milwaukee restaurants via bike s traight to your door.

The bike del ivery food service has been up and running for the past three weeks (when written).

“Things are totally picking up” says co-owner Peter DiAntoni

DiAntoni and co-owner Kevin Sparrow think it will take at least a year for word to really get out about bike delivery options. In the meantime, they continue to add

restaurants.Flavor Cycle currently delivers from six restaurants in Riverwest, the lower East Side and Downtown, and delivery from two new restaurants begins this week with the addition of the Riverwest Co-op Cafe and Deli and Stonefly. Another Riverwest restaurant, Centro, will offer bike delivery soon, too. “We’ll have a lock on Center Street,” says DiAntoni.

Deliveries are made from the participating restaurants by placing an order with them and asking for bike delivery. There is usually no charge to the customer for delivery. The

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restaurant takes care of everything. Cl icking on each restaurant’s l ink at Flavor Cycle’s website brings up the phone number to the restaurant to place orders, as wel l as l inks to restaurant menus and Facebook pages. A detai led map of each restaurant’s del ivery area is also avai lable by fol lowing its “del ivery zone map” l ink . Each restaurant has its own del ivery area.

Deliveries outside these areas have a $3 fee imposed, but DiAntoni says these things are negotiable. In other words, no one is interested in assessing an extra charge for

going another block off the area demarcated on the map.Flavor Cycle has done runs to Lincoln Avenue from Bel Air Cantina, 1935 N. Water St., which is way outside its del ivery area and the far thest del ivery so far.

“We got it all the way there and it was still hot”

Plans are developing to add Bay View and Walker’s Point restaurants and delivery areas. The Loaded Slate, 1137 N. Old World 3rd St., is currently the southernmost restaurant working with the delivery

Cycle

05

Potbelly sandwiches out of the

Downtown restaurant when he was

working for Breakaway Bicycle Courier.

Sparrow still works part-time at

Breakaway.

Already prepared for riding in any

weather, the delivery riders have a

wide array of equipment to carry

the food, from pizza-box-sized racks

mounted to the front of bikes to large

water- and wind-proof backpacks.

Flavor Cycle also has a Bullitt cargo bike

which is currently in the shop getting

custom paint. Built in Copenhagen,

Denmark, Bullitt riders are on what

looks somewhat l ike a traditional bike ,

in back of a cargo area they essential ly

push. Flavor Cycle wil l be able to

deliver larger catering jobs once the

bike is done.

Bike delivery is an economical and

environmentally-sound idea whose

time, it seems, has come. Similar

services are slowly gett ing s tar ted

nation-wide; one recent ly launched in

Detroit cal led Hot Spokes.

No one understands these trends

perhaps as much as DiAntoni and

Sparrow, who have been covering

bike messengers and bike culture for

five years in their publication, COG

Magazine.

In fact, they modeled Flavor Cycle on a

group of out-of-work bike messengers

in San Francisco they recently did a

story on for COG.

The San Fran riders all lived in the

Mission district and three years ago,

when times were even more lean for

them, they started observing how many

of their neighborhood restaurants and

bodegas they enjoyed had carry-out but

no delivery.

DiAntoni says the group of California

riders approached these businesses

with their idea of bicycle delivery

and are now the biggest employer of

cyclists in San Francisco.

DiAntoni and Sparrow believed this

model could work in Milwaukee and

brought it home to form Flavor Cycle.

COG magazine is basically doing

business as Flavor Cycle; DiAntoni,

the magazine’s editor, says they’re

a group of b icyc l i s ts “ l i tera l ly

prac t ic ing what we preach,” which is

l iv ing the bicyc le l i fe .

COG magazine was started in fall 2007

and has an international status among

bicyclists; its 12th issue comes out

soon.

“We’re totally over-staffed. But everyone who’s doing it believes in it.”

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Flavor Cycle brings food from various Milwaukee restaurants via bike straight to your door!

If it works out, this will be the ultimate

part-time job,” says DiAntoni.

The riders sign up for shifts using

Google calendar.

All the riders are independent

contractors, providing their phone

numbers to a Google voice program

that distributes the calls after

participating restaurants call the main

contact number for bike delivery. There

are three riders working each shift.

DiAntoni says the Flavor Cycle riders

are like “virtual servers” from

the restaurants. They work for a

traditional tip split like in-restaurant

servers do, where tips in the cup are

divided at shift’s end.

Riders earn shift pay, which is splitting

the service fee Flavor Cycle charges

to par ticipating restaurants 60 / 40 (in

the riders’ favor).

Restaurants that sign on pay a daily

service fee for bike delivery, which

starts at 10 percent for delivery

purchases. (There is no fee if there are

no deliveries.) For example, the fee

charged to restaurants for all orders

up to $50 would be $5 (10 percent)

regardless of whether one order of

sandwiches for $12 was delivered or

four orders of sandwiches (for $48)

were delivered.

Restaurants are charged $10 for daily

orders between $50 and $100 and so

on, staying at 10 percent according to

this scale until daily orders reach $250,

when the fee increases slightly.

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07

Remember

The grey areas are off

limmits, the orange is free

game and can be utilized

any way seen fit. The race

starts at the intersection

of Knapp and the River

Walk, and ends under I-94

on the River Walk. If you

choose to use the parks as

part of your own route,

make sure to stay on the

paths and off of the grass.

Most important of all,

remember to have fun

as there is absolutely no

tangiable reward.

Pull

& L

ift

Map Key

River Walk

Finish Line

Streets

Ally Cat

Off Limits

Parks

Bridges

START

09

Try Before you FlySafty & Consideration

Spencer Thode

River Run

Threading the Needle

The Ally Cat races are races that take

place a few one or more times a month

durring the rideing season. They usually

consist of about fifteen riders who are

just out to have some fun.

The Ally Cat races function on a basis

much like the old Cafe Racer style of

compitition. They are unoffical, they

are compitive, and they are checkpoint

based. There is a general path that is

required to take, but how you utilize it,

is up to you.

This particular race path has to do with

close quarters. Narrow alleys, short

sprints, and tight corners that will make

or brake the compitors.

A large majority of this race takes place

on the Milwaukee River Walk. There

is an emphisis on utilizing the bridges,

alleys, and paths that go along the river.

The Race starts at on at the

intersection of the River Walk and

Knapp, on the WEST side of the river.

From this point is it your choice on

how to get across the finish line the

fastest. The race finishes on the EAST

side of the river at the intersection of

I-94 and the River Walk.

I t i s impor t ant to note that we

ARE about saf ty when i t comes to

these races . I t i s h igh ly recomonded

to t ake the route set map and

farmi luar ize yourse l f wi th the

d i f ferent shoots & corners . Tr y

before you F ly and we’ l l be happy.

Seeing as this is the River Run. The

competitors must be on the River

Walk when they cross thr finishline for

it to count.

There are various hidden alleys to be

used through out the race. Everything

in the orange is there for you to

explore and find the fastest route. The

grey areas are off limits and will cause

immidate disqualificaiton if entered.

The green spaces are parks and can

be utilized as long as you stay on the

paths and avoid the grass at all costs.

Remember that the point of this race

is to just have fun, meet other riders,

geting to know the city even better,

and probably having a few beers

afterwards. This will possibly be the

only time this race is offered through

Alley Cat Races so we hope to see you

there with your favorite Rig.

Photography: Molly Lefenber Writter: Steve Roche

MilwaukeeUnderwear Bike Ride

back up with the rest of the group. If

you’re interested in helping, simply get

in touch. If this is your first ride, or

even if you’ve been to almost every

one, please read this. This is a safe and

fun ride for everyone involved, so let’s

keep it that way.

Started as a one-time underwear ride

to celebrate a bir thday years ago, the

Milwaukee Underwear Bike Ride turned

into a monthly summertime event that

grew into something much larger. Since

day one, they’ve been promoted as “a

group ride just for fun, and to promote

positive self body image. Anyone and

everyone is welcome!”.

This is a group ride just for fun, and

to promote positive self body image.

Anyone and everyone is welcome!”

We encourage everyone to ride down

in clothes that they’re willing to strip

out of and donate to St. Vincent.

We’re always looking for some ride

“ambassadors” to help throughout

the ride. You’ll be able to enjoy

yourselves just like everyone else, but

will be familiar with the route and help

communicate different things to keep

everyone safe. Flats and mechanical

problems are bound to happen to a

few, so we’ll also have ride support

along to help anyone that might run

into such problems and get you caught

(i.e . staying in our lane, stopping at red

lights, etc.). Remember to bring your

bike lights!

If this is your first ride, or even if

you’ve been to almost every one,

please read this. This is a safe and fun

ride for everyone involved, so let’s keep

it clean and have a good time. What we

need are more

This past June marks our five-year

anniversary of hosting these rides

during the summer months.

They have grown into somewhat of a

mobile festival that explores the city via

bicycle. It gives people a reason to get

excited to tune up their bicycles, many

buying a bicycle just to participate, and

to simply get out and ride!

The rides always meet in public ,

outdoor spaces. We congregate, collect

clothing donations, paint faces/bodies,

distribute patches, stickers, and/or

spoke cards for donations, and socialize

with friends and strangers alike for an

hour before taking off.

We typically ride 10-15 miles, with a

mid-ride stop to break up the distance

and socialize. The route is planned out

ahead of time, then rode in advance

by the main ride leader and a bunch

of friends/volunteers, who then lead

the ride night of. We go through some

great neighborhoods and visit great

spots around the city, so show respect

to your environments. Make sure to

clean up after yourselves, and throw

out any trash you may have.

As the ride has grown in size and new

participants, we want to stress the

importance of safety. Please ride safely

and be respectful of others around

you. We will be riding at a group pace,

and following the rules of the road

13

“ambassadors” to help throughout

the ride. You’ll be able to enjoy

yourselves just like everyone else, but

will be familiar with the route and help

communicate different things to keep

everyone safe. Flats and mechanical

problems are bound to happen to a

few, so we’ll also have ride support

along to help anyone that might run

into such problems and get you caught

back up with the rest of the group. If

you’re interested in helping, simply get

in touch.

We organize and end the ride at a fun

afterparty for every ride with a bunch

of great bands and DJs. Half the fun of

the event is the party, so stick around

after the ride!

Past friends that have played;

Albydammned, Animals In Human

Attire, Asher Diamonds, Crosss (Nova

Scotia), Fresh Cut Collective, Ghastly

City Sleep, Hewn, Kane Place Record

Club, Jaill , Real Numbers (MN), Rio

Turbo, Sat. Nite Duets, Sirius Booty,

Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!, Video

Villains, and more. We’ve also had

some great hosts at Bad Genie, The

Best Place, Bruno’s, Cocoon Room,

The Compound, Hi-Hat / The Garage,

Hotel Foster, The Irish Pub, Redroom,

Riverwest Public House, Trocadero,

and Yield.

My friend Seth, who now lives out in

Portand, said something a few years

back that really stuck with me.

“Thursday was my first underwear

ride, and I had a freaking amazing time.

Seeing the whole street packed with

bikes both ahead of and behind me was

exhilarating and made me immediately

realize that we’re a pretty powerful

force when we all get together.. I

think we have a real chance of making

a difference in this city, both in the

present and for the future, and I want

to be a part of that.”

RIDE FORHUMANITY

15

Mid RideColor - Staged group shot

At the mid point of every ride. We stop

at a Milwaukee Public Park. This is a

time for resting, regrouping with friends

you may have lost, or making some new

ones as you find your way through the

croud. Usually people will take this time

to have a beer or grab some water. As

always we strongly encourage picking up

after ourselves, and make this easy by

providing garbage and recycleing bags.

DowntownB&W - Intransit (red light) shot

At the start of the ride we usually meet

somewhere on the Upper East Side, or

in River West. These seem to be the best

places for meeting considering that most

of our partisipants live in these areas

of the city. This generally allows us to

make our way down through the city of

milwaukee, allowing for great views, and

a ton of fun.

17

Milwaukee Bicycle CollectiveIllustration: Ilana Green Author: Spencer Thode

Above all of this though, there is one thing that may be a bigger issue than organization. That would be costumers. Only on a handful of occasions did I see potential clients enter the establishment. Half of the time it would be students or a regular just coming to use tools or look around. A few times I did see people make a purchase, But just wasn’t frequent enough to be able to stay afloat as a company if they actually had to pay for the space they are provided.

The Milwaukee Bicycle Collective is actually one of the oldest Bicycle Collectives in the country, third I believe. It is beaten out by

Mostly what I learned was how to fix specific bike parts that prior to volunteering, I didn’t even know the names of

two others out on the west coast, one of which is in California and has been around for a very long time. I believe that the major reason they have lasted so long is that they don’t face many of the challenges other collectives face in renting space. The collective was actually started by the landowners son a few years prior, to when the current Key Holders took over. The owner just assumed keep the shop open as it reminded him of his son who had moved, and keeps him busy with helping out around the shop.

The experience I gained from working with the people at the Milwaukee Bicycle Collective (MBC) was definitely an interesting one. There is a much greater diversity of individuals than I expected, including age range and sex. I learned a lot mostly from the older members of the group. I believe this is mostly because this is the section of almost any population that enjoys teaching the youth what lessons they have learned themselves. Mostly what I learned was how to fix specific bike parts that prior to volunteering, I didn’t even know the names of. I also learned a lot about the tools needed to repair the specific bike parts. As the sole purpose of there existence is to be used for them.

Almost the entire other portion of my time spent at the MBC, was spent on organization. They have a few different methods to keep that place from falling into complete chaos, but all seem to be teetering on the edge of efficient environment and a total mess. The major issue is that no one has the same schedule, meaning that each “Key Holder” (people who open and close the shop) is there when they can be, and because the others cant make it. This creates a major miscommunication between those responsible for running the shop. This would also result in the time of the volunteers being spent in moving object/bikes from one place to another, to “organize” the shop, and then the next day moving them either back to where they were or to another location. This didn’t bother me much at all because I was just there to help out and do what was asked of me. Bur for an effective and productive work environment to be established something could be done.

Most of the parts would hopefully be able to be salvages from the monumental amount of bikes that are already at the shop. There are so many that two times that I have been there we changed the organization of fixing them, to a scraping system (that actually worked much better). Some of the bikes I worked on myself were just going to be salvages and used for scrap metal (this was actually my favorite job as I was able to work on my own, and at my own pace). Every so often a collector would come and id help him load up the scrap bikes into his truck. This is what actually gave me the idea of recycling the metal from the old bikes to create the sign. One of the main ideas of the collective is conservation, this would be one way I was tying up the signage into the shop. Another way is that I would effectively be communicating that this is a bike shop despite the surrounding buildings.

I had never directly worked on fixing a bike for a such young person. It was a first for me,and

hopefully, not the last either.

My idea for bringing in new (more) clientele is signage. They use quite a large building as their place of business, that has one door on the exterior wall that is painted and covered in stickers. There is no sign, there is no indication of a bike shop being there, and there is no upkeep of the area surrounding the entrance or side of the building, it basically falls into the background with the surrounding neighborhood.

My Basic concept for the sign for the Milwaukee Bicycle Collective is to communicate that this is a bike shop that they are here to help. The bicycle collective is there to help the community, along with provide a service that would otherwise be possibly unattainable to peoples in the community, (after school programs, bike mechanic lessons, etc.). It would be silly to think that the community would not want to help them back.

To bring in more clientele I would propose to create a sign for MBC. This sign would be mostly constructed of old bike frames, forks, bars, posts, gears and other parts. This sign would basically embody what the shop is and how they utilized what seem to be useless objects and rejuvenate them. This does not mean useless as in garbage, but unused parts.

The rest of the materials could have to be purchased, which would hopefully not cost too much. I would want a flat piece of metal that could have primer, and paint added to have the name logo and additional information added so that it would be legible and properly displayed. There would have to be a mount for all the parts that could be

meeting I could not find the building to save my life. I drove around the block three times and eventually just got on foot and searched for the entrance.

The biggest thing I took away from this course is being involved within the community we live. I didn’t necessarily do this as I live on the east side, but non-the less felt a connection with the city I’ve lived in for the past four years. I can see how there is a disconnection growing between populations and the area they live, I believe this is because of easier worldwide connections via computer, cellular device, x-box, and so on (I just named three things in front of me…) Being involved within a community can help keep people grounded and occupy their mind which what is actually happening around them and not in some far off land (although is also important). I guess the main message is that there are things happening within the local communities that are worth taking note of, and taking part in. I’ve done bike ride benefits, and large group rides for fun, but had never directly worked on fixing a bike for a very young individual, that was a first, and hopefully for me not the last.

securely mounted to the side of the building. This may also have to be purchased.Hopefully by completing this project both the community and the collective will benefit. I believe the community will benefit because living a healthy lifestyle and teaching those younger than you can only provide a healthy productive environment. It may be a bit of a stretch to say that riding a bike can improve a neighborhood. But if you take into consideration that this is an environment that pro mots consistency, helpfulness, and a willingness to learn and change it is easy to see the potential benefits.

As far as the collective goes, having even more community interaction, and time spent with clients will only strengthen the organization. They have already been around for a much greater time than expected of bicycle collectives. Having the community support them in a greater way would only solidify the their position within the community and the greater Milwaukee area.

Finally I believe that the most apparent thing the signage will do is give the collective a presence. Even if you search for the collective Online there is no image of the building. This is because the building has no identity, without an identity it is impossible to establish a strong presence. This would also give volunteers and others more confidence when approaching the establishment for the first time. When I first went to a Key Holders

DELIVERY

FLAVORCYCLE RIDER

Q: Sounds great , and what about

F lavorcy le . Do you en joy work ing

wi th them?

A : Yeah I do, I mean . Somet imes

were a l i t t le shor t s t a f fed , but thats

about i t . Weve had the opper tun i ty

to connec t a few bussness wi th new

cus tomers , and i love r id ing so i t s a

b i t of a win , win .

Q: I s there any way in which you

cou ld see condid t ions improve in

the near future?

A : Wel l l i ke i sa id somet imes i t fee l s

l i ke we cou ld use a few more r iders .

I f the weather i s bad then ever y

de l iver y employee in the c i ty i s busy.

I t s no d i f ferent for b ikers .

I th ink that i f we got more r iders to

de l iver for us we might a l so be ab le

to expand a b i t . We a lready have a

b i t of a lock-down on Center St , so

i t s a s t ar t , but i t cou ld be better.

Q: I f there was one impress ion

you would want people to have of

F lavorcyc le , what would i t be?

Q: So can you te l l us a l i t t le about

your se l f ? I unders t and you work

for F lavorcyc le and we’d l i ke to get a

l i t t le background.

A : Sure . Ive been l i v ing in mi lwaukee

for a few years now and have had

some t ime to fermi luar ize mys lef

wi th the c i ty. I ve a l so been r id ing

and work ing wi th b ikes for even

longer, which has def ina te ly he lped .

SEAN NYARY

Spencer Thode

25

COMMUNITY

WORKING TOGETHER

F lavorcyc le i s s t i l l open today

and cons idered to be a growing

busn i ss . To the r ight i s the contac t

in formai ton a long wi th ava i l ab le

hours for de l iver y serv ice .

A : Wel l were a group of people

who love to r ide . Enough so that we

dec ided to mak a l i v ing of f of i t .

Th i s i s someth ing that I do in my

freet ime , i t s a hobby of mine , and

I have many fr iends who en joy the

exac t same th ing . Whats not to

love? I f anyth ing the more im r id ing

the happier I am.

Q: Im g lad to hear you en joy what

you do. One las t th ing . I hear

that you and some of the other

employees commpeted in the day

long race , the R iver Wes t 24 . How

d id that go? Did you p lace?

A : Wel l what i l l say i s that we d id

wel l as a group, as we usua l ly do.

But for us i t wasnt as much the

compet i t ive par t of the race we

were interes ted in , but more of the

aspec t of jus t hang ing out .

Riverwest , Mi lwaukee , WI Hours Mon - Fr i Phone:(414) 949-7433 10 :00 am – 11:00 pm

I t works by each of us t ak ing turns

a t the track route unt i we t i reout

an then let another r ider t ake to

the road . So when ever were not

r id ing were jus t s i t ing a t our s t a t ion

re lax ing , ea t ing , l augh ing , you konw.

Jus t en joy ing ourse lves , and what we

choose to do wi th our t ime .

Gallery Night

Frederick Layton Gallery

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2014 Juried Senior Exhibition

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