Clips of Faith is a fun event to showcase indie films submitted by aspiring filmmakers touring 18 cities in the country as they display some of the New Belgium Lips of Faith beers.  We were so excited for Clips of Faith to come to Kansas City and had been looking forward to attending the event for months, even as it was scheduled for the night before we were to get married. Christopher rode his Cutter to my office on the Plaza Thursday after work, and we rode together to Spin! Pizza for dinner and drinks before venturing over to Theis Park.  We were one of the first to arrive, and we let the bicycle valet team park our bikes among the many racks awaiting all of the other cyclists to come.  We checked out the many vendors who had set up camp under tents, and we were so happy that it was such a gorgeous evening for the event.  So many of our friends were able to meet up with us as well as a slew of other bicycle advocates we seem to run into at each cycling adventure.  One thing we love about the cycling community is how friendly and accepting everyone is!  BikeWalkKC even gave us an honorary membership as a gift for our wedding!  Christopher and I got to sample many of the introductory beers, and we had a chance to brew our own concoction at one of the booths.  As the evening turned into night, they began playing the indie films on a big projector on the lawn of the park, and many gathered on blankets  or huddled together to watch.   Clips of Faith was a hit here in Kansas City, and we would love to see New Belgium bring their Tour de Fat to our home town one day very soon!  Check out pictures below of the fun time we had!

Christopher and Mandy Beltz

 

Mandy was wanting to add something to her vintage AMF cruiser but couldn’t really find what she was looking for until we discovered from The Lovely Bicycle the art of twine and shellac. We got some ideas from the website and decided this was what she needed for her bike. Excited to get started on it, she did it this weekend. We went and bought some regular twine, amber shellac and a couple of foam brushes from the Lowe’s. She picked out a few spots to dress up and started to work.

First we wound the twine tightly around each piece that was getting shellac and made sure it was securely in place. Mandy got out the shellac and put on a couple of coats and the results were amazing. Don’t take my word for it, take a look for yourself!

And of course the Woodchuck Cider bottle cap was a nice touch to the kickstand top! The AMF Cruiser is ready for our honeymoon weekend at the Pedaler’s Jamboree!

M&C

With Bike Week underway, we’ve had the opportunity to participate in several of the events and meet some fun and passionate bicycle advocates! Tuesday night we rode from the Plaza to Brookside for dinner at 75th Street Brewery, then on to Family Bicycles for their bicycle giveaway benefiting Revolve. Revolve is a non-profit organization that provides green options in areas of health, transportation, and skill development. There was a small band of people eating, drinking, and talking until the raffle at 8:00PM. Unfortunately neither of us won, but considering we now have 13 bikes we’re happy the fixie went to someone who was very happy to receive it! We did win a couple of cool T-shirts!

On Wednesday we once again biked from the Plaza (Christopher biking the 5 miles from his office to meet me at mine) to Brookside to enjoy dinner at Charlie Hooper’s before meeting up with about 45 other cyclists to take part in the Ride of Silence organized by the Kansas City Bicycle Club. This ride is a silent, slow-paced bicycle ride to honor those who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. It was a somber, heart-felt affair, and the cloudy, chilly evening was a perfect backdrop. We rode in silence from Brookside, through the Plaza, up to Westport, and wound our way back to Brookside to finish out the 7 mile route.

Unfortunately the weather has taken a stormy turn, but Bike Week is not over! Check out the remaining activities at www.bikeweek.bikewalkkc.org, and look for us at the Tour de Brew this Sunday!

Christopher and Mandy

Well so far, bike week has been pretty eventful! With the 36 miles that we got in on our Sunday Funday, we got it off to a good start.

Monday morning started Bike To Work week. With Mandy’s help and bringing my work clothes to me, I was able to get started out right.

10 miles and 35 minutes later, I arrived at my destination, my place of employment. I put up my bike and immediately walked over to City Hall to meet up with Eric and other cyclists for breakfast. Chris Cakes was serving the famous pancakes and sausage! Mmm mmm! Shortly after, City Council members were there to help celebrate our city’s recognition as a Bronze Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists! This is a pretty huge achievement. Granted we still have a way to go, but hey! this is BIG news! Brett Hugh, president of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, presented the designation award to city officials on behalf of the league. Additional remarks were made by Mayor Sly James, Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Circo and other community bicycle advocates such as Sarah Shipley and Eric Rogers.

And so I finished off the work day, headed to the gym, and then rode home to end up with 20 miles on the bike for the day. My legs are getting pretty exhausted. As mentioned in the previous post, this 52t chainring is definitely making things challenging, but I will NOT give up.

I was pretty excited to get home, because I was acquiring another bicycle! I picked up a 1974 or 1975 (exact year is difficult to determine) Peugeot! This is a sweet looking bike! The plan is to change very minimal parts but restore it almost to its originality. I love the power generated headlight and taillight!

I would say this has been a pretty darn good start to the week! Stay tuned to hear how the rest of the week goes! We still have the bike raffle tonight at Family Bicycle! Wish us luck!!

Christopher and Mandy