Banana Goes Bananas!
This is the first week since we started our weekly newsletter that we are not organizing any events ourselves. If you have a bike with gears (either road bike or a mountain bike) you can go to the race a friend of ours is organizing this Saturday. It is only 20km long but in the mountains.
Sat Nov 5th 9:00am > Road Bike and Mountain Bike Race
It starts at 10:15am on the North of Beijing. For details check this website.
But be aware this is not for fixed gear!
There are 2 events coming up both on the weekend of Dec 10th & 11th
1. Takao Bike Polo Cup HBPC 2011 in Taiwan Kaohsiung. See details below. You can register now until the end of November.
2. Fixed Gear Event in Guangzhou Dec 9th to Dec 11th. They are currently working on the details but intend to have tricks competition, race, and maybe bike polo. Here is a link to an article about last years event.
Please let us know if you want to go to one of the events.
Keep riding despite the colder weather. When you ride your bike you are much warmer than waiting for a bus or walking to the subway. In winter the Beijing streets are more empty so it is nicer to ride.
Ines & the Natooke Team
Dec 11 Takao Cup
Polo-tour Day–>10, Dec Sat.
9 am: Guided tour around Kaohsiung and play polo in some nice courts.
Tourney Day–>11, Dec Sun.
8:30 am registering @ Glory Pier. 9:30 game on. Maps here…
If 16 teams, we go Double E. If less or more than 16, we go Groups and Final 8. Girls can have their own tourney.
Court Size: 33.6 X 19.2 m. Asphalt pavement. 30 cm hight’s fence.
Currently Registered: 3 teams of Glory C (Taipei), 2 of TCC (Taichung), 5 of KBPA (Kaohsiung). And 2 girls teams. 12 teams in total now.
Halloween Bike Ride
The fixed gear riders got all dressed up for an udderly fun Halloween! Natooke Banana stole a pirate sword and went bananas taking out ghouls and ghosts (first picture) while Saint Thomasina blessed the souls of the dead. We even had Amy Whinehouse grace the occasion leading the riders over to the Veggie Table from Drum and Bell tower! The second picture shows the “Banana-Milk-Shake”.
Books & Magazines
Do you know that Natooke sells books and magazines? Of course they are all related to bikes and might be a good idea as a holiday gift. We have books around bike design and bicycle culture, mostly focussed on pictures, some also have text in English. We currently have the COG and the Urban Velo magazines.
New Bikes
#1. Female frame for the cute girls
#2. Fixie couples, you are so lucky
#3. Charles is back! (his bike got stolen before)
#4 ~ #8. Even though recently the weather has been foggy and hazy it seems no fixed gear rider got influenced, most of the bikes have a feeling of fresh flowers and romantic days!
Fixed Gear World Tour
Keith Thorarison, a Canadian track cyclist, riding his fixed gear bike around the world came to our shop. He raced road bikes but didn’t quite like the fact that after 150km the guy who can sprint fastest wins. He is an amazing sprinter so decided not to do the 150km, but just sprint. So at around the age of 18 he started track racing and is really good at it (e.g. see here and here). He decided to go to Australia for some track racing and then cycled across Vietnam on a fixed gear bike. He then decided to cycle around the world on his packed up fixed gear bike passing by all the interesting places he wants to see. From Natooke he cycled to the China Bicycle Museum. We wish him all the best for his future travel.