RVA Bike Polo

ESPN: Its only a matter of time

2010-07-21T11:05:00.001-07:00

By Dan Murphy
Special to Page 2
Archive

Bruce Carver Competitors strike a ball while deftly riding a bike on asphalt. No, it isn't too easy.

MADISON, Wis. -- Imagine beer, bikes and polo meeting on asphalt and you'll start to get an idea of what hard-court bike polo is all about.

This little-known sport is an incredibly distant relative of horse polo -- but without any of the gentility. Cut-offs and T-shirts replace the more formal riding pants and tails; merciless hecklers serve as fans; worn asphalt tennis courts replace finely manicured polo pitches; and oozing scabs are a sign of a game well-contested. Oh, and tattoos, while not required, are certainly encouraged.

Welcome to the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships, in which 66 three-man teams competed over the weekend for a chance to play at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, in August.

"To be good at this you have to be both good on your bike, and also have an understanding of athletics in general," said Jonny Hunter, the NAHBPC organizer. "You see a lot of hockey players, lacrosse and soccer players. It's a mix of what we jokingly call 'bike jocks.' "

"The Odds" won the tournament, putting the final game out of reach on a last-minute breakaway goal by Philadelphia's Mark Capriotti. He and his teammates, Chris Roberts and Nick Vaughn, survived three grueling, humid July days of competition (and booze-soaked nights) to win $3,600, which is intended for use on plane fare to the World Championships.

The championship was contested at something less than a pristine athletic venue. Ragged tennis courts on the outskirts of Madison were ringed by small plywood walls, while fans, high on Gatorade and Miller High Life, were enthusiastic.

Teams with names like "Stickmata" and "Bourbonic Plague" represented 44 cities. And the sport has clubs throughout Europe, East Asia, Australia and South America, as well as the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Bruce CarverHundreds of people cheered on the competitors who were playing on a tennis court.

The bikes, mostly single-speed models from a wide range of makers, are battle scarred. Homemade mallets are a shortened ski pole with a six-inch chunk of HDPE pipe on one end. Endorsement dollars haven't found the sport yet. Clearly, hard-court bike polo is about the love of the game.

"It's a good community of good people," said Kevin Walsh, a Toronto resident who oversees leagueofbikepolo.com. "Hardcourt's been around about 10 years. But there's been people playing bike polo on asphalt as long as there has been asphalt and bikes."

Matt "Messmann" Messenger is the godfather of the sport (or "grandfather," as one fan sarcastically yelled during one of Messenger's games). The 39-year-old elder statesman started playing the game with bike courier friends in Seattle in the late 1990s.

"We started inviting people out on Friday night with beer and polo," Messenger said. "Then we started throwing tournaments. In 2005, you started hearing more about bike polo. And it was 'Wow, people are really starting to play this game and taking it legit.'"

The sport isn't for the timid. With one hand on a brake and one hand on a mallet, players chase a small plastic ball. There's no touching the ground with your feet -- and if you do, you get a "tap-in" at a designated spot to be able to return to the action.

Riders weave through opponents with amazing agility, but graceful biking can, and often does, quickly turn into a painful pileup.

The tight-knit community plays hard on and off the court. Beer and bloodshot eyes were abundant at the NAHBPC.

"We have these friends that we see maybe 10 times per year," Capriotti said. "Trust me, I wonder about the philosophy of our friendships. You come here and you know everybody. It's very strange, but it's cool."

Dan Murphy is a freelance writer for Sports Media Exchange, a national freelance writing network.

FBM Bike Company Polo Specific Prototype Frame

2010-07-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

by smccormick on July 13th, 2010

It’s finally finished and we couldn’t be happier! After about a year of begging Steve Crandall and dozens of emails and phone calls with Mike Erb, we finally got it. This first prototype goes to Nick Vaughan, of Richmond VA. Keep your eyes out for this bike at the North American Championships in Madison WI (this weekend!) and the World Championships, in Berlin come August. You’re encouraged to find Nick and try it out and let us know what you think. This frame was hand made in Ithaca NY modeled after the Sword with some serious tweaks with bike polo in mind. A higher bottom bracket for less pedal strike during fast tight turns, slacker head tube angle for minimal toe overlap, shorter chain stays, long drop-outs for gearing options, v-brake bosses, Cinelli cable guides, longer top tube, clearance for 38mm tires and shorter wheelbase. This pictured frame does not include a gusset at the down tube but future ones will. I cannot say when this will be in production but hopefully by Fall you can order one, don’t ask me how much they will cost, I don’t know. I can tell you this is a gorgeous bike and the ride is incredibly nice. We do not have an official name for the frame, but all of us in RVA have been referring to it as the Battle Axe. Please feel free to spread the word about this frame, repost some photos, quote me etc. THIS IS A PROTOTYPE*

“It is fucking awesome!” says Nick “the bike told me that it loved me and would care to be intimate with me. I’m not a very sciency person but the geometry and science of this bike are awesome. All of the folks at FBM took all of the input that we gave them and then were all like “we are going to build a fucking awesome bike” the attention to detail shows in a very real way. This is how I want to feel on a bike.” -Nick

See you at the courts!

Halp a fraind of los marcos!

2010-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

EL CHOMBO - a good friend and possible dopplergager for EL MALO - was found himself in bad askident on Thurday night. In his own words, he say

“I woke up on the pavement, spitting out teeth and blood after clearly being unconscious for an undetermined period of time….I think I may have been sideswiped by a livery car. I woke up alone and injured….poured peroxide on my face….found my teeth on the ground just by simply following the blood trail….p.s. I had a helmet on!”

Our brother is damaged and he is goig to need you for helping. Please donate money through is Paypal RIGHT NOW.

The Draft is done!

2010-02-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

So the MKE bro's are arrested for polo, storry by Kremin

2010-01-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

Mug shot from the in just arrest.

During a game of Sunday pick up 1o members and 1 spectator of the mke bike polo club were arrested and charged with trespassing at the O’Donnell parking structure in downtown MKE. Here’s a first hand in counter.

A black crystler rolled up 3 deep with undercover sheriffs. The sheriffs sprung out of the car instantly “every one come here and against the wall!” They count us out 11. Cop says “I thought there were 12″ Lodi had snuck out 5 mins before the bust. They tell us all that we are under arrest and will be receiving trespassing tickets $263 each. We tryed to talk our way out of it and that edabout 30 seconds. One by one we give our info and receive a ticket. We are then explained by one of the officers that we are being detained and no is under arrest his exact words are “if you are asked by a cop or employer have you ever been arrested say no.” We all got zipped tied it was explained to us that we will be going downtown to be processed and released and that it shouldn’t take too long “it’s just like a speeding ticket” they kept insuring us, except when you get a speeding ticket you don’t go to jail right?

We asked about our bikes and the old woman who was calling the shots told us that they will be taken to the Wauwatosa sub-station and we can pick them up tomorrow. For all of us our bikes are our main source of transportation and Wauwatosa is suburb of Milwaukee and is miles out from the core of the city were we all live. We pleaded with them to let us lock our bikes to a rack, no dice.

They proceed to take us over to our bags while we are handcuffed and tell us to pack up. We can’t do much with our hands behind our backs so they had to pack everything for us mixing our belongings amongst the many bags. They kept saying “damn I thought this would be much easier!” and complained how they couldn’t be listening to the Packer game in there warm car. We finally get our bags together and they start grabbing our bikes. We “say hey we haven’t told you whose is whose yet”. The woman in charge declares “it’s freezing cold and you’re worried about bikes? Fine have it your way?” So we all get a nice sticker or new spoke card identifying our bikes. They throw all of our bikes in a big bus.

Then we follow in the bus which is like a freezer at this point keep in mind its 10 degrees outside. We sit in the bus for 15 mins before moving and then we are off to the county court house. “Oh wow she didn’t turn on the heat for you guys!” The cop says as he opens the door. He rolls his eyes and helps out of the bus. We are then handcuffed to a bench and one by one they do a quick run through of our bags throwing out any food and looking for weapons. Then off to the next room, another bench with cuffs.

We sit in this room amongst true criminals. Shoulder to shoulder with thieves, drug addicts, and prostitutes. Some of us up to 8 hours, without knowing what the next step is. I was the lucky one who got called first. They took me into a room searched my bag had me sign a form of the content of my bag, and then gave me a personal pat down search. This took about a half hour. Then off to the next room where you sit on another bench and wait and wait.

They call you up for a few questions, what was the highest grade in school you achieved, missing any teeth, job, tattoos, you name it. Next its picture time. Then on to prints. Then back to the bench. Finally Brian made it through, I think to myself I have someone to talk to. There is a Shift change, 1 hour of sheriffs standing around shooting the shit. Then one player at time we watch every one get searched and make it into our room. Since our bags were so big it took some people up to 40 minutes to complete the search.

We asked numerous people what’s next for us some say “that’s not my job” or ” you’re going up stairs to a cell”. All the officers figured out that we were there for bike polo and laughed they said something along the lines of “I can’t believe that the sheriffs would waste every ones time with a book and release for a simple citation”. After a few hours they stop laughing and are pissed that we are still coming through while the line is being backed up with real criminals.

Hours and hours go by and at 2:30am. I was released. I was arrested at 5:30pm. I was lucky to be the first released some didn’t make it out until 4am. In the end they arrested 4 college students, 4 college graduates an Artist, 2 bicycle mechanics and new player to find absolutely nothing. No drugs no warrants, not a damn thing. They wasted our time and the city’s over a simple game that we are passionate about, bike polo.

We will be taking this to court in February and are currently taking any legal advice or help. I think the true next step after we settle the tickets is getting a city sanctioned polo court. What are your thoughts?

- Eric Kremin-kremin@mkebikepolo.com

Really!?

2009-12-29T05:56:00.001-08:00

This will be the latest MKE item that the Hero squad will be sporting this season.

Here are some of the stats on it:
Made from 7075 T6 Series 4 Aluminum, these poles are constructed with the strongest commercially available, aircraft-grade aluminum alloy and are twice as strong as the industry standard, rated to 75,000 PSI.

More info at Milwaukee Bicycle Co.

2009-12-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Paris Polo gets a blog

2009-12-17T07:39:00.000-08:00

Paris Bike Polo now has a blog.

Steel Horsemen tribute

2009-12-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

Steel Horsemen - RVA
from the boards used in the NACCC's Polo Tournament in Chicago 2008 now representing RVA in Ben Schultz's chicken coop

2009-12-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

(via ianisgone : via sveden)

City Representative

2009-12-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

OK everyone. The Association has made a call to action for each city to decide and back a representative for their city. We can do this all together at polo. We can do this in the comments section here. Anyone can rep provided they want to. I am a regional representative as of right now and that is by no means a permanent station. It also doesn't bind me to being the RVA city rep. So think about this and make your voice heard. We have until January 10th to decide.

Bicycle Art Show July 2010

2009-12-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

One of the fine ladies at Quirk Gallery on Broad St. approached me about RVA Polo participating in a show this coming summer. The theme is bicycles. The medium is any artistic form.

She asked if we wouldn't mind playing games in their parking lot which is right next to the building where the Antiques on Broad show takes place. There are some logistics to be worked out like netting to prevent any aerial shots from going through the fence or hitting spectators but aside from that it's almost as good as the indoor spot.

As previously mentioned this is in July of next year and I may not even be in this country at that point. The show is taking place over multiple weeks so we can set up the demo at a time when everyone is available. Keep your ears open.

FTL gets pwnd

2009-12-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

Picked this up off Doug D's Blog

This is a real bummer, I read this over at communitymallets.blogspot.com

This past weekend was the All Florida Bike Polo Championship held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Bike polo players from all over Florida came to have fun, eat food, and play their friends. The Ft. Lauderdale community was complimented hundreds of times over the weekend for having such amazing courts, and beautiful park to play in. The weekend went smoothly with no injuries, no drinking, and no trash whatsoever at the park.

On Tuesday evening, we showed up to Holiday Park only to find that the lights were turned off, and our cones were in the middle of the court. Asking the park ranger why the lights weren’t on, his response was “because you’re not playing anymore.”

The FTL bike polo players have been playing at Holiday continuously, 2-3 times a week, for over a year now. We’ve had no complaints other than “open containers” but it is never the bike polo players, only spectators on bicycles. The bike polo players brought this unused court back to life, and now it’s been taken away.

The city has never complained about bike polo in general. Their reason now is “as of November 10th, 2009, it is $20 per hour for the permit for the court, and another $40 per hour for lights.” A total of $60 per hour to use, otherwise unused, roller hockey courts. The All Florida tournament was held on December 5th and 6th, just about a month after the permits came into act.

If you have any references, stories, or legal help for us, please write to me! FTL will not go down without a fight!

communitymallets@yahoo.com

Help save our courts!
UPDATE
(via facebook)
Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo
A very special "thank you" to Jared for talking things over with the powers that be at Holiday Park. Ladies and gentlemen, we've come home
Looks like everything is fixed up.

Side Note OTen

2009-12-09T08:24:00.001-08:00

Anyone not going to Spring Break OTen should get in touch with Nick and assist him with setting things up for the North American Handbuilt Bike Show. NAHBS is on the same week as SBOT and Brooks is looking at us to entertain. I think Schwinn is also looking at us to demo their Fleet Velo Joust frames.

Talk to Nick about what he's got in the works. Don't just pretend to be a part of something, stick your hand in the pot and start stirring. NAHBS is a good time to represent polo in general. Do yourself a favor if you don't plan on going to Florida and assist with this.

SPRING BREAK OTEN

2009-12-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

OK Richmond this is an early plea. I need to know who all plans on going to Spring Break OTen for the entire week this year.

For you noobs it's in Pensicola. February 21st-28th. Plan on taking extra days off around these dates so that you have travel time padding. It's a 12 hour drive. Do not waffle on this. Plan for it now. This is not a joke.

I need to know how many of you plan on going the whole week. I was in Florida for 9 days last year and it was epic as shit. Not one day was a bad one. I played polo every day on a pile of different styled courts. This year we are trying to get a beach house right away and so I need to know RVA's attendance numbers so we can procure a big house at a reasonable price.

By big I mean: this

It's on the Gulf. It's next to the most amazing court you will ever play on. It's not going to be cheap. With 30 people it's about $150 a person for the whole week. I repeat don't waffle on this opportunity. You will hate yourself for missing this. Leave a comment with your confirmation.

Big Ups One Love Kevin Swordbro

2009-12-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

I don't know if everyone heard but thank you to those who came to visit this past weekend.

Friday night was awesome. City tours were given. Cemetery tours were given. Will hosted a gathering at his house. Half the party was too drunk to move the other half went dancing. Saturday we played at the super secret indoor spot. It was a true street fighter moment that even Sauls would have been proud of. Sunday was gorgeous if not a bit chilly. We played polo.

Let it be known now and forever more MKE is by far the worst dance crew in the history of humanity. They are so good at polo though. We forgive them. But, seriously, you guys are like half a Chris Roberts on a scale of 5 Chris Roberts at dancing. You get 4 Jasons out of 5 for party ethic though. We were so glad you guys could make it.

Thanks to Boston for showing up. We love playing against and with you guys. Thanks to Jav for shooting video and not staying in goal. Thanks to Nick R. for showing us a few new tricks. Always stoked on what's been cooking in your brain. Last but not least thanks to Cole. There aren't enough left-handers as infuriating as you. You got MVP for the tournament. Unfortunately it was a winner take all event and you guys didn't win so... Just kidding; we miss you guys already.

Thank you Philly for showing up. 3 stand up dudes. Peter, Brendan and Brendan². I want to hear more stories about this farm you stayed on. Marco you're always welcome. Glad you made it on the right weekend this time.

Thanks to DC for always being a staple of solid bro'z and party lifeforce.

Thank you NYC for bringing Alexis (Ottawa) and Gena (Vancouver) and Sarah (Warsaw). Zach will always be the best left handed player. Chris; your brokes will never get old even when you get old telling them. Thanks for not getting tazed. Chombo thank you for knowing everything there was to know about Star Wars Trivial Pursuit before most of the questions had been fully read.

Thank you Alexis for being the worst checkers player in the world. We still love you. That's why you got our flag. Little Richmond represent. Thank you for not having a SSN and confusing the shit out of that cop.

Thank you everyone who lost money in dice. Dice has officially been recognized as the "mini-game" of all polo tournaments now. OOTA you failed this weekend. Good try.

Thanks to Nick V. for setting this thing up. Thanks to Baines for letting us use his house and Mia and Nicole for cooking food. Dinner was amazing. Thanks to all the locals and players who housed people.

Bike Polo

2009-12-07T14:00:00.001-08:00

Bike Polo
Originally uploaded by IanRVA

Here are the full finals of the Broducken '09.

ENJOY!

final goal of the turduckenv2.0

2009-12-07T08:11:00.001-08:00

final goal of the turduckenv2.0
Originally uploaded by javi_G_A

Thank you Jav for the footage.

Turducken Results

2009-12-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

After a full weekend of polo and Turducken the tournament wrapped up with team Bearnie Mac & Cheese (Nick, Ian, & JT) coming in first place, Silent Majarabroity (Ben, Alexis, & Chris Roberts) second place, and Browaukee (Kremin, Joe, & Matt) third.

Thank you guys for coming into town and making this thing really happen. We were forturnated enough to have a warehouse space thanks to RMI and the Rao's to keep us warm and dry. Hope everyone had a great time and look forward to seeing you guys next year.

Turducken v 2.0

2009-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, to come to Richmond and enjoy some good 'ole southern hospitality, food, and of course polo. We will be holding the day games at the Church Hill court at 29th and M st and to be continued at Holly Street Park for night time pick up. Hope to see everyone out there, and don't forget Sunday will be the time to stuff your face with a beast of epic proportions. Would you expect anything less? Please contact Nick for info and reservation at icknayvon@gmail.com

Welcome

2009-09-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

This is the temporary home to RVA Bike Polo. You can check here for updates and random awesomeness that always ensues.