What a trip! Belgium is awesome. I highly reccomend going there. Especially if you're into cycling. We probably would've stayed longer, but we missed Raz too much. The riding in the Flanders region is so good. We had some local ex-pros to show us around. Eric Van Lancker and Eric de Clercq(in photo). They both know the area very well, and took us on some amazing rides. Thank you! The Ronde de Vanvlaarden is one the most amazing races ever. I've always loved the spring classics, but after riding 140km of that course, in true Flanders weather(upper 30's to low 40's w/rain and wind), it's unbelieveable how fast the pros go. Check the photo of Jill on the Muur! We rode a lot of the country side and in and around Ghent. Which is a beautiful city. So old, so many people on bikes, so many people dressed nicely. Americans are pretty damn lazy when it comes to that(I'm guilty). We also watched, and rode, parts of Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix(photo on the cobbles). We rode 6 or 7 sections of pavé, including the Tranchée du Arenberg. That section is completely ridiculous. Many of the sections we rode were the pavé you would think. Somewhat uniform, flat, but hard to ride. But the Arenberg is made of huge holes and sharp jagged stones. And it's a long section(2.4km). After the pavé, we rode the finish in the vélodrome(me in photo). Watching the races was crazy as hell. The Belgians are die hards. So every good/cool section of a race was crowded with people freaking out. Check the photo of the donkelope flag flying. I can't wait to get the dvds of all the races. There were a lot of Australians in our group. So one day, we went to Ieper(photo of church) and the surrounding area to ride and visit some war cemetaries. Belgian soil is very bloody. A lot of battles were fought there in both world wars. We also visited the Tour of Flanders museum. Tons of cool photos and pieces. You could stay there a whole day checking everything out. Or at least I could. I had one hell of a good time, and would do it every year if I could swing it. Bikestyle Tours did an amazing job. Our guides, the Eric's, were awesome. And the group was tons of fun to ride and hang with. It was freakin' sweet!! G

just a quick update. belgium is rad. everyone rides bikes. even the women dressed up in skirts and heels!! the racing has been good. i wish i could ride cobbled climbs all of the time. of course the beer is delicious. the u.s. dollar sucks. and it is hard to type on keyboards here. more news with pics next week. later, G

it's been awhile since the last post. but it's gonna be awhile again. donkelope bikes is headed over the puddle to Belgium, for some of the spring classics! we'll get to ride, and of course watch the pros, at the Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem, and Paris-Roubaix. it's going to be awesome! so that's why there won't be any posts for a couple of weeks. unless i can tear myself away from the fine ales, or stop suffering from a chocolate hangover, i'll do some updating over there. but then a long winded post. this is something i've wanted to do for some time. and now it's happening! freakin' sweet! later, G

howdy, we've got some pics of some machined bmx goodies. now my favorite part, putting them together! went to the "cookin' in the kettles" mtb race at fort ebey today. awesome course! unfortunately, some trail terrorists moved some tape around. since we have not ever rode there, it took us awhile to figure out where to go(there are trails all over the place). so long, we missed our start times. bummer. jill deciced not to race, and i entered expert. the race went well. i took 3rd in age and i think 6th or 7th overall? i would've rather been with the ssers to promote it's own class. oh well, next time pre-ride earlier. the big water shot is on the course! it's a trail that runs along the edge of a bluff. amazing.

yo all, some new goings on here. integrated headtubes. k dub showed me some tricks on how to produce these. k dub came out to shred and see Fu Manchu. both happened, and both were awesome. k dub is a machinist/tool maker living in Wisco. but i'm trying to get him out to the coast. the guys up at cache creek cycles wanted some bmx frames with integrated headsets. standard press in cups will still be the norm on donkelopes. but if someone wants an integrated headset, it's an option. new tees should be here any day. pics to follow. late, g

i'm sure everyone has heard the news by now. Brett Favre is calling it quits. this came as a little bit of a shock to me, just because last season was so rad, yet ended so bad. it is his life, although a lot of people make a part of Favre's life, a part of their own lives. including me. it's a little sad to think i won't see no. 4 throw another td. but that's ok, there are a lot of them to remember! i just want to say thanks Brett, you made watching Packer football Favretastic!!
G

march is now, and spring is near! there's been some good weather up in our corner lately. good enough to ride some street down in seattle before going to see the most ass kicking band, fu manchu! awesome day of riding and all of the bands rocked out. the openers were A.S.G. and Saviour. i'm definitely paying for the weekend now. but the sore neck is worth it. working on some integrated head tubes. pics soon.
late, G