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An Open Letter to Boston

This is an open love letter to Boston and Boston Bike Polo.

Some kids want to retire this logo, but personally I love it.
Some kids want to retire this logo, but personally I love it.

Boston is probably one of the worst biking cities in North America. I don’t know why specifically; it could be because of the generally unfavorable road conditions, the oblivious and ornery automobile drivers, or the roads that look like someone dropped a handful of spaghetti on a map. The city and its bureaucrats hate that we play polo on the hockey court in Allston, the hockey players hate that we use the rink more than they do, and hardcore road cyclists with their $4000 Cannondales hate the way that we represent bikers to others on the road (no helmets, ignoring traffic signals, bombing one-way streets the wrong way, etc.)

I have a theory: all of this hate directed towards Boston Bike Polo brings us  closer together as a community. The fact that the city of Boston generally sucks is in fact the glue that binds us. When the weather isn’t great, we get together and play awesome board games and drink beers and geek out until 3am. When the court is covered with a foot of snow and the forecast looks promising, we strap on our duck boots, grab our shovels and a 12-pack of Sam Adams, and we scrape that lumpy white devil powder (not the fun kind) off of our court. When the city says we can’t do something, we secretly do it anyway, and then we light a bunch of firecrackers.

Addison takes another bank shot. Photo: @miguelmreyes
Addison takes another bank shot in Puerto Rico. Photo: @miguelmreyes

There is a reason that I feel more comfortable with my polo friends than I do with the people I work with. I can truly be myself: unashamed that I make more shitty puns and more dick jokes than any reasonable adult in his mid-twenties ought to. Polo gives me an excuse to fly to Puerto Rico for the better part of a week with my best friend, and subsequently forget to wear sunscreen on the beach. Polo gives me a relatively healthy outlet for my desire for carnage.

Boston is not a fun city. The bars close at 1am, the T stops at 12:30, and the city resents me as a resident. Every year my friends tell me they want to move, and every year I get more excited when they don’t. You guys, I don’t want to be here either. I have weekly fantasies about moving to other dope polo cities like Austin or Toronto or San Francisco or Lexington. However, it’s when I travel to other cities that I hear whispers of people saying they want to move to Boston, and let me tell you, you wouldn’t regret it if you did.

Do a kickflip!
The docks of the Charles River.

Come April, if you need me, you can find me sprawled shirtless on the docks of the Charles River with my Harpoon IPA in a Freaker, warning other kids not to touch the bottom when they dive into the water. -ZS

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HOCKEY TOWN BOSTON – WINTER LOCK IN

It has been almost a month since Boston threw a monster of an indoor event. 26 teams with the best players in the World in attendance. So much to say but I cant be bothered. The highlights for Boston was our A team (Nick(best man), Tony & Neil Young) coming 8th overall, beating Machine Politics of Chicago (Runner up in the World Championships, in the Swiss Rounds on day 1. Then on the sunday double elim they got knocked out by the World Champions by a sudden death goal, but it really could have gone either way.

Here are the results:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AqN5eYmtettFdGUtNWx6MWEwTU96Y0ZqSHlMSXVOblE&hl=en#gid=0

Here are some pictures and a video by our friend Nate from NYC.

_MG_4213

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sick wheel covers…and how to make them


quiet thunder, boston

First rule of polo: don’t talk about polo. Second rule: don’t play with your nice wheel set! Everyone knows that your wheelset will be the first thing you have to replace on your polo bike…especially after a few rounds with Sassy. Check back later for a tutorial on redneck truing from Sassy himself!

In the meantime, build yourself a sick wheel cover. Helps keep everyone’s mallet from going through your spokes, including your own.

Build a sick wheel cover!


“bad attitude”, boston

Materials:
How much time and money are you going to invest in this project? Cardboard is quick, easy, and free, but corrugated plastic is going to hold up much better and is rain-proof. Either way, you’ll need:

Two pieces of material about 2′ x 2′ for each wheel you want to cover. Really, only the front is necessary.

Zip ties – I used about 8-12 per wheel, others use more. Don’t skimp.

Materials to decorate your wheel cover and make it sick. Spray paint, stickers, markers, whatever. Don’t skip this part or you are lame.

Tools:

Box cutter

Marker

Drill – only if you are using corrugated plastic

24″ or so of string

Tape measure (or just use your string to measure, whatever.)

Push pin

Make those covers:

Start with your 2×2 square, and mark the center.

Measure your wheel radius – rim to rim. Keep in mind that the wheel cover should not cover the braking surface if you are running a brake! Bad news!

Tie a loop in each end of the string, making sure that the total length is equal to the radius of your rim. Pin one end loop of your string to the center point you just made, and put your marker in the other end, and draw yourself a circle exactly the size of your wheel. Now cut it out.

Cut a 2″ circle out of the center for the axle. Also make a cut along the radius of your wheel cover if using corrugated plastic – this will allow your cover to match the dish of your wheel. This cut isn’t really necessary for cardboard covers.

Repeat above – you’ll need two covers for each wheel.

Decorate those covers to make them sick! Be creative! I’ve included a gallery below to get you thinking.

Mark holes for the zip ties by laying your wheel over the cut out cover and marking every few spokes. A small hole on either side of the spoke will allow the zip tie to loop around the spoke and hold the cover on. Don’t go too close to the edge of your cover, especially with cardboard.

Cut the zip tie holes by stacking your wheel covers on top of each other and cutting through both pieces. For this step you can use an exacto on cardboard, or a drill for the corrugated plastic. What the heck, use a drill for either material, it will turn out better.

Throw those covers on your wheel by running that zip tie through one sheet, through the wheel, then the other sheet, and then back again, making a wheel cover-wheel-wheel cover sandwich. Don’t tighten too much until you have all the zip ties in loosely – then go back around and snug everything up. Trim of dangly zip tie ends.

Play polo! Your wheel cover is awesome and now everyone thinks you are cool! Make them for others that are too lazy and charge in beer!

I’ll keep a running gallery of awesome wheel covers. Email me at editor at boston bike polo dot com if you want your cover pic added. Here’s a start…


gus legit, boston


tink, dc

mystery wheel cover, who claims it? I like.

ken, NYC


veronique in the background and “bad attitude”, boston

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Design a bike rack for Mission Hill

Dingleberry, this has your name written all over it… link to the request for qualifications

Deadline: Thursday, April 3, 2008
Eligibility: Open to professional artists/designers based in Massachusetts. Art/design students may also apply for this project.
Budget: Total, all-inclusive bike rack budget including design, fabrication and installation is $7,500.
Mission Hill Main Streets (MHMS) invites qualifications for the design, fabrication and installation of a multiple-unit bicycle rack. Funding for one bike rack is currently available, but a replicable design for potential fabrication of additional racks is desired. A youth component will be integrated in the development of the project. The location of the bicycle rack will be selected in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston prior to proposal development.

rack

Continue reading “Design a bike rack for Mission Hill”