Dead Men Tell No Tales....

Okay Lassies....time to take your potty break (I will so unfriend you if you 'wet' yourself while watching this video...and no...you can only blame farts on the dog)...handsomely grab a darn tasty snack pack, okay grab two, one vanilla and the other chocolate then mix..freaking rocks...right!!! Now grab your bean bag which will cause you to swim for almost the entirety of this post...well just til ya find that riiiiiight spot...yeah...that's it....what ever happened to that beautiful creation...ohhhh...bean bags....with duct taped seams and all.....



(I've been wanting to add this video to a blog post for a while now...Michael Bolton doesn't do it for me (he almost had me at Scareface, almost)...but Mom...how are ya? Needing some CPR??)

Now if you haven't picked up on the theme of this post yet, then I'm gonna Cat o'nine tails ya....Blimey, enough PIRATE talk...let's do this....For todays Rebel Training Ride, Sylva and I rode to Long Beach...I've never been there but have heard bout it a lot lately...didn't know what to expect from today's ride...as usual...

Starting off as a typical LA ride....river(esk), freeway, powerlines...then we hit Long Beach...

  
Ahhhh Yeah....gotta say pretty damn beautiful...there were the touristy bits too but the breath taking views made it so easy to ignore the stench of commercialism that sneakishly mixed its self with the salty sea air. 

....as we headed away from Davey Jones Locker, high noon began to blanket us in its super amazing 93 degree April sun...gotta say we were excited to have hit our goal of 35 miles...oh and to be done...too damn early for this kind of heat....I was also glad that there were no ER visits, crashes and no broken anythings....

But this is all for a fantastic cause....AIDS Lifecycle....Sylva and I are riding 545 miles in 7 days from San Fran to LA...to do this we are raising $3k each...we are getting close...thanks for all the support so far and keep donating....

Sylva's Donation Page

Casey's Donation Page 


Here are some fun links to help feed that inner Pirate...

Pirate Cycling League 


"Pirates In Me Panties" 
By Peter and the Pansexuals

International Talk Like A Pirate Day
Sept 19th

Ciclo Urbano....

Let's start off with a little slap to the face, shall we...Urban downhilling is one of the most ahhhhmazing and terrifying sports on a bike...I can't wait til I have the skills to try it myself...

 
I am very new to urban cycling and I feel like I am literally getting a crash course in it....but cycling is my love and passion that brings people together...I am a big believer in community and biking goes hand in hand with that idea....this also brings me to one of my favorite bike shops in Chicago, Ciclo Urbano they focus on community, education and having a kickass time...the last time I stopped in, I bought up some rad handmade hats and the profits helped finance the youth ladies to a bike event in DC...check out their website, they have a ton of stuff going on and are developing our next generation of cyclists...awesome....

Onto our update:Rebel Training Ride take 3??? Sylva talked to a bike friend and they suggested a bike path that goes from downtown LA to Long Beach...I had no idea what I was in for, LA bike training has become it's own adventure...I was just hoping for no crashes or cars....what happened at the end of this ride was again something I had never thought would happen, thought we had used up all our fairy event power...guess not...

But first, let me say a HUGE THANK YOU to the following for their very generous donations....

Henry Cavillones

Jaime Rauner

Pyper Hugos

Joshua Essay

The urban bike trails, a bit different than Nebraska but just as rad....

Someone call a cab??? I think LaLaLand will always have something ups it's sleeve....

May have found some singletrack, looks promising...will keep ya posted....

After a very smooth, fun and uneventful 20 mile ride we came back to the police waiting for me at my car....ohhh shit...what now....

 Uhhhh...my rear window had been shattered!!!! Okay bike gods, we have always gotten along, especially through some of my most difficult and challenging rides but are ya trying to tell me something????

Oh I know....don't weed wack on urban terrain...is that the lesson learned....so the run down, a city worker was weed wacking "weeds" and a rock hit/shattered my window....good news, the amazing city of Vernon has already paid and replaced my window...hellz yeah!!!!

Here is the spot where they were weed wacking....I thought LA was the Leaf Blower Capitol of the World...I have nothing further to add....except....

Donate!!!!

I'm at 25% and need your help...

Casey's page to donate:

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070983&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

Sylva's at 35%...her page to donate:

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070979&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

If you are in the LA area here are a list of upcoming fundraising events...they are going to be a blast!!!

Movie Night: This Friday night, May 2nd!!!

Drag Party!!! Saturday May 10th!!!

I know you have all missed me and the blog, I've been on the road but now I am back and will be posting much, much more....til then...go get RAD!!! and don't forget to DONATE!!!

Rebel Yeah.....

One of my favorites growing up was of course Pippi Longstocking....we had so many things in common like killer fashion sense, ability to piss others off, end up head to toe in dirt and the FRECKLES....

Here is a rad story about this rebel role model....hellz yeah...

http://sweden.se/culture/pippi-longstocking-rebel-role-model/

A big Rebel Thank you to my newest supporters Tom and Kim Sheppard!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Speaking of rebellion, let's get to our bike ride....the second day of duo training...think I'm gonna start calling it rebel training, has a nice sound to it....the second day of Rebel Training was sooooo much better in the fact that neither Sylva nor I flipped over the bars or got hit by a car....you can all breath now....

I picked up Sylva and we drove to the Valley with our bikes...I know, right, the valley...actually I don't...the only thing I know bout the Valley is that it gets hot there and the Nic Cage movie...

Yeah, doesn't look like much, especially when you are use to the trail system in Nebraska but we were separate from the cars, mostly, and we got in 45 miles...not too shabby...Here are some photos from the ride...

 Please ignore my finger, I know, I forgot to photoshop so gotta use your imagination...this was towards the end of the ride, close to Burbank...now this is more like it...

Stopped for a little Pose off session....when in LA.....

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Let's take a quick break to watch a super rad video about a rebel, kickass, totally inspiring bike chick...shall we....Missy Giove y'all...



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"Masses are always the breeding grounds of psychic epidemics" Jung

Since I'm in LA I should have a psychic, there is actually a listening in Yelp...I'm starting to love the zaniness of this city...

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Best+Psychic&find_loc=Los+Angeles%2C+CA

These were pretty damn dope...bike lockers...ahhh...yes please...I think I may rent this out as a studio space...

 Had to stop for tacos...knew I was hungry when we passed a sandwich on the bike path that had been on the ground for....well....let's just say awhile and it looked sooooo amazing...so instead of ingesting what was surely infested with creatures I don't even want to know exist, we stopped for tacos....we housed it....then started our new venture into a food coma!!!

What a awesome day in the saddle with the coolest chick....thanks for the nice steady miles....

Again, here are our AIDS LifeCycle pages where you can donate...June is coming fast...we both can't wait for this exciting adventure...well, think the adventure has already started....



SYLVA!!!
http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070979&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

CASEY!!!
http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070983&pg=personal&fr_id=1630



This is for all those amazing rebels out there....keep on letting 'em have it...

Movie Night

Hey y'all!

On Friday May 2nd from 8pm-1:30am...My riding partner Sylva and I are hosting a movie night at Pillar Box Studios in downtown LA. We are going to screen the following films:

http://www.wherethetrailends.com/
https://risingfromashesthemovie.com/

Both are documentaries about biking adventures! We are riding with AIDS/LifeCycle from June 1st through the 7th on a 545 mile bike trip from San Francisco to LA to benefit AIDS research and awareness. This is a little fundraising event in hopes of earning some $$ for the cause!!!

$10 donation for one movie
$15 double feature

Feel free to bring your own snacks but we'll be vending beverages, booze, popcorn and some treats if you want to buy them here!

We'll also be hosting a party on the 10th- drag themed! Invite to that is coming soon!

Hope to have you all here for a movie adventure! If you are not interested in coming but still want to donate, here is a link to our official pages:

SYLVA!!!
http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070979&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

CASEY!!!
http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070983&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

Here is the Facebook Invite for further details...

https://www.facebook.com/events/1437741383139415

My Bike....

Friday was the first training day that my riding partner Sylva and I had together. We were super excited!!! The goal, to ride to Long Beach from Downtown LA. I need to get use to riding on pavement, I'm a dirt girl. 26 miles was what we were shooting for. 

 Sylva read to rock N roll...

Streets of LA

As we were rolling along into mile 4, I saw the most amazing sculpture. As I was looking at this breath taking work of art, I was thinking that maybe some homeless guy created this, that it was his life's master piece...as I built this story in my head Sylva was checking out a different sight and as she pointed it out to me, I thought...ha, wait til she she's what I've been looking at...then it happened...the typical slow motion, I see myself getting too close to Sylva, I hit the breaks but don't really remember hitting the breaks cause I'm on auto pilot...before I know it I'm on the ground, legs entangled in my bike. As we drag me and my scattered belongings out of the road I realize I just ate some serious shit!!! I'm okay but think I may have broken my shoulder, it doesn't feel right but I decided that if it was broken I'd know for sure and I wasn't for sure, so in my mind it wasn't broken...as we talked bout what just happened Sylvia informs me that my amazing sculpture created out of pure ahhhmazingness was a damn palm tree!!!! I'm a total ass!!!!

It looks life a sculpture...sort of...

We assess the damage and I am so bummed but want to ride so we decide to stick to the downtown area so that if I can't ride anymore we can head back to my car. As we stop for a second time I checked my mileage...we both laughed it was mile 6.66. Cue creepy music!!!
 

Mile 6.66

Sweat Shop (sort of)

As we got back into our rhythm of things we ended up leaving downtown since I was doing okay, as long as we didn't stop too much...we made our way down to the west adams area...we were riding down Washington when a black car came up on us. So I moved over to give them room..then all of a sudden their mirror is in my elbow and the side of their car is hitting the side of me....I'm getting hit by a car....now luck is on my side here (well and earlier too) cause even though I was hit by a car I didn't crash, I somehow held it together. The car sped off as I yelled words that would make a sailor blush....we both stood on the side of the road in shock. Only 12 miles earlier I had eaten shit, now a car hits my side and hits the same arm that I landed on when I flipped over my bars. I think I'm not meant for road riding....but I sucked it up once again and we finished the ride with 20 miles. 

At UCLA Medical ER

When I woke up in the morning my arm didn't feel right so I had my good friend Jaime take me to the ER. (Which a big shoot out thank you to her for taking good care of me and helping me out). When I was checking in I told my story of what happened. 

Chop aka Casey: "I had a bike wreck where I flew over my bars and hit the pavement"

RN: "Were you wearing a helmet"

Chop: "of course"

RN: "let me see your arm and show me where you landed"

Chop: "this is were I landed when I hit the pavement but this is where the car hit me 12 miles later"

RN: "I'm sorry, what? This was in the same night. So after you had an accident you continued to ride and got hit by a car. Wow."

 When I left the hospital they all told me I should go buy a lottery ticket and stay off the road for a few days, these accidents were a sign. I agree, it's a sign that I love my bike!!! Good news, no broken bones!!! Just some really nice bruising. Bad news, think my luck ran out cause no dice on the lottery tickets. Oh well, was worth a shot!!

Valet at the ER, yep this is LA

I was afraid that I won't be able to take part in the AIDS LifeCycle Ride so I had decided that if not I would still do road support!! But more good news...I'm still in!!! This means so much more to me now!!! I'm not giving up on this exciting adventure and fantastic event to help out others....I was taught when you get knocked down, you wipe yourself off and get back at it!!!

Now the Thank Yous!!! I'm sorry for the delay on saying thank you but I've been healing....

Chris Bell

Johna B

Jean Imray 

Caley Johnson

Nancy D

Douglas Barone

Granddad 

You are my shining stars and I am now at 14%!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

Sylva and I are working on some fun-draiser events and with the launch of my Etsy store I will be donating 10% of my sales from now til June 1st to the ALC 2014!!! Click below to see details....

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaseySheppardDesigns

Sylva's ALC page is below, check it out, donate, pass it along, we both have the same goal of raising $3k each! 

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070979&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

I'm going to leave you with this great video...it was shot in Minneapolis which seems very fitting...I will be riding my Surly Karate Monkey for the 545 miles and Surly just happens to be based out of Minneapolis and I will be headed to Minneapolis in about a week for the SNAG conference!!! Minneapolis is also one of the most bike friendly cities...Thanks again and I will keep you posted on this weeks training, fundraising and other events (no bike crashes, no bike crashes!!!)

Oh how serendipitous...

 What a great word, it's right up there with enigma and...well...moist (it's a great word no matter what anyone says)...one more time...okay...moist!!! Even though all these words have Andy Warhol in common that's not the direction I'm headed....moist...

I've started this blog because of serendipity....which the ever so trusty web defines as "development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way"...I like that...and have to say my life is full of them....especially lately and with the help of the Aids LifeCycle Ride (the other reason I started this blog).

On June 1st I will be riding 545 miles in 7 days from San Fransisco to Los Angeles.  This ride not only raises money but awareness in the fight against HIV/AIDS. To take part in the amazing event each rider needs to raise at least $3k. So this is my kick off to raise my $3k!!! 

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/

Let's back track a bit...back to events of chance....I moved to Los Angeles about 9 months ago to expand my business as a jewelry artist, the pursuit of getting my jewels on the rock gods of the Angelenos. Things went very well at first then took a HUGE nose dive.  Seemed like everything was going wrong.

I wanted to find a way out of LA, go to the middle of no where, near a bike trail so I could just live life and ride my bike. I was missing my community, friends and good people. My self pitty soon turned into self reflection, I needed to give back, donate to the organizations that have influenced me and could influence or help others. I made a list of bike, art, park and other organizations that I was going to send money to each month, from $10-$50 (even though I don't have much money I thought I could help). While I was making my list I was watching "The Long Way Round" on Netflix (which you need to check out, super inspiring) and this fueled my idea to start bike touring. I thought bout starting out small, like San Fran to LA. With all this happening I was very lost in my career as well. No creativity and I wanted to make bigger, more costume style work...wearable art but I was lost. 

Then life took a spin....a small development of events by chance happened and in such a happy, beneficial way!!! Because of these events I have started to create the work I've dreamt of and was asked by a great new friend to take part in the AIDS LifeCycle Event. Now I'm starting off my bike touring with a SF to LA ride that will help an organization and influence others. Oh but I still got my list to donate to, that still happening...first things first though.

Now you can be a part of this amazing adventure and great event. I will be blogging about my training, progress of funds and all the prep...oh and I'm totally calling out those that donate too!! After the ride I'm gonna write about my experience and what I've heard is a life changing event, how could it not. 

How can you donate, click the link below!!!

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE2014/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=3070983&pg=personal&fr_id=1630

If you aren't able to donate but want to help out then please email to others, post to your facebook page...just help spread the word....

Here are photos from today's urban assault training in LaLaLand....Now go get RAD!!!!