Steven Locklear- The Cycling Manimal

Greenville!

2009-03-05T10:39:00.003-05:00

Damn it's been forever since i've been on this shiznit! Whats up with that?! So i havent touched a bike in about 6 months, big deal! Dont shank me for not riding a bike. Now that i'm serious about school, I find no time for riding. I'll pick it up again sooner or later. Maybe when the weather is nice, I'll get out riding and possibly attend a race or two while I'm still in town. I should be moving to Greenville NC in june to attend ECU and to finish my biology degree and try to get in medical school(EEK!). I'm getting a pimped out apartment in a gated community with mah lady so i'm stoked about that. I've finally decided that I would go full steam ahead with this medical degree and put cycling to the side. I figured that I would rather be a successful and educated medical man with a lot of money to buy Gucci bikes all the time instead of being a cycling bum and racing-just not my cup of joe any mo'. Im not quitting cycling though, Just taking a break for more important things in life. In Greenville, i'll be around a more challenging racing scene as well so i'll be checking that out after I move down there and possibly join the cycling club/team at ECU. I know i've been a stranger, but I definitely miss riding with everyone. I'll Catch up with you all sometime, I hope. Might have a "peacing out" party...

Chipotle Alert!

2008-06-16T23:32:00.002-04:00

There is a correction that I need to make regarding my last post. According to my sister-in-lawlessness(the gf's sister!), Chipotle is coming to Virginia Beach Town Center!

Chipotle:

Opening June 20th, I, Steven Locklear, pledge that I will be a frequent and loyal customer to my beloved Chipotle, even if I have to ride my bike there. Oh, how wonderful it will be to have the convenience of a savory, big, mouth-watering Chicken burrito in my tummy with just a hop and a skip away. And to wash it down with a delicious beer, even better. Thank you Chipotle, it's about damn f'n time you get your arse on the ball and set up shop close by!

Sincerely,
Manimal

Camping!!

2008-06-13T14:03:00.008-04:00

Ok, so it's time for a new post! I just haven't been getting the same love and excitement from blogger.com like I once use to. Anyway, I haven't been doing much racing because the cost of gas has made me poor; I'm a homebody that rides a bike to wherever I need to go. The last race I did was the Kelly Cup in Baltimore and it was a really exciting race for me. It was my first time doing the race and I'll be back next year. While I was there, with the support of the girlfriend, I found myself wishing for more time because I got there about 15 minutes before the start and they almost gave my number away to someone else! I also ran into my good ol' Fiordifrutta buddies from the Tour of Virginia last year, so it was cool to see them again. The race came and went, and I stayed in D.C for 2 more days just to mingle around the streets and visit the museums with Betsy. All-in-all, I was around the Alexandria/D.C area for 3 days and all we ate was Chipotle! I thought I would be sick to my stomach, but Chipotle never lets me down and it was delicious time after time. It was a grand time, I must say; however, we went camping at Crabtree Falls off the parkway in Tyro, Virginia, and that was even more exciting. On the way there, more Chipotle! Camping was camping. Just did some hiking and fishing, drinking beer by the fire, and roasting marshmallows for smores. On the way home from camping, Another Chipotle stop. since there isn't a Chipotle around locally, I wanted to make sure that there was enough Chipootle in my system to last me a year. I'm done here. I hope everyone is doing well and riding a lot.

Farmer Steve!

2008-05-03T20:53:00.008-04:00

With the rising food prices, I have decided to start my own organic garden. It started off as an idea and next thing you know, I bought seeds and now I have baby herbs, fruits, and veggies. Here soon, I'll be saying "screw you grocery store!" Thats not all! I got so excited about this big idea of growing a garden, I even started to build my own greenhouse. Hot stuff! Its in the works, but in a few days, it'll be finished and ready to fill up-hope it works out well, or I'll be starving in a few months.

One serious weekend of racing. 4/19, 4/20

2008-04-22T23:50:00.009-04:00

The Tour de Beach on Saturday was a great day for a race; sunny, warm, Richmond Pro Cycling to rip your legs off. When I first started this blog, I remember I was just an overdeveloped cat 5 without enough competition and was moving up categories as fast as I could. Well, now it's a year later, I've got what I've been waiting for-competition to make me wheeze and push hard. Ok, it's not that bad, but racing now is definitely conditioning me to become a stronger cyclist. For the race on Saturday, I placed 8th. To me, I think that's a very respectable finish.

Sunday was the Casey Crit and the weather took a complete 180 degree turn on everyone. Rain and thunder is never included on my list of enjoyable things to do, but you make the best of it, I suppose. I don't mind riding in the rain, I actually enjoy it a lot, but when it comes to races and being around crazy "roadies" with no bike handling skills, I tend to worry about my well-being a little bit. Just a little! I also want to give credit to my girlfriend, Betsy, who stayed out there the whole time for both of my races. Talk about a keeper! As I was preparing for my first race, she mentioned that she had an umbrella in her trunk. I go to the truck to get it and this thing was bright green and super tiny. I don't even think it would cover up a chihuahua, honestly. Mitch hunt was parked next to me when I whipped that thing out. I'm sure that I had him rolling for a good 5 minutes. Embarrassing! Needless to say, I was going to be soaking wet anyway from racing, so I just got rid of that umbrella, quick! Moving on! My first race, I got a 4th place finish in a 4 man break-a-way. The last lap, no one wanted to do any work, so I decided to pull everyone through to the finish line and lose a good placing on the sprint. 4th is better than getting caught and finishing up in the pack somewhere. An hour later was my next race, the 1,2, 3 race. By this time, I'm dead from the previous day and the race I had just finished. Again, Richmond Pro Cycling made an appearance. With about 25 laps to go, my tired legs were giving out on me. Little cramps every time I got out of the saddle for accelerations. I placed 18th in that race and was ready to get the heck out of there.

I went out for some tropical smoothie after my first race, and as soon as I got back, there was a bad crash on the last lap of the womens race. I'm sure everyone has heard about it...I just hope BJ will take it easy and not pull off a Tyler Hamilton. Hope you get well soon.

Uptown Greenville Crit

2008-03-30T17:18:00.009-04:00

What a weekend to start off the first and second race of my season! Greenville is the city of the pirates! ARG! The East Carolina University Pirates, and there is never a dull moment when I visit that amazing place. This year my friend Matt traveled up with me to cheer me on and we both stayed at my friend Mary's house. when we arrived at Mary's, some of her friends were already drunk and this was around noon. Ha, thats college at ECU for ya. Her friend Gabe was stoked about a bike race and wanted to go cheer me on, and that he did. he showed up with an entourage of friends and every lap the field passed, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Steven is number one!!." he even took the extra step and made a sign in which the photographer at the race took a picture of them and put it up on the website. At the end of the race, i went over to all of my drunk friends/fans and I had seen little cups laying all around them. oh wonderful, they even brought jello shots to the race. lovely! the race went alright for me, there was a break-a-way that was caught with 2 laps to go and I gave everyone the jump start to catch them, as Bender said. I never got the official results so I don't know my exact placing, but it was somewhere around 15th. weather was rainy and there were no crashes, so i'd say it was a good race. I can tell that my performance isn't up to par yet, so here in a month or so when i get a few races in my legs, the manimal shall appear and light up the racing excitement. Right after the Saturday race, we went back to Mary's house and not even 30 minutes later, my #1 fan, Gabe, had puked and passed out on the floor. time check, 4:00pm. 3 hours later, that dude is wide awake and back to being crazy. my hero! ha. the sunday race was, again, cold and nasty weather, but a little more dry. another break-a-way happened and ended up lapping the field. no one wanted to work at all to catch it and I had brought the field so close at times but i gave up on trying and just sat in the field. there was about 6 guys or so in the break-a-way and i got first in the field, so i'm guessing i got around 7-10 place. not exactly sure how many guys were in the break. oh well. I had fun, and I'm just focusing on getting my racing legs back into shape. now that I'll be racing, there will be more blog entries!

Thats everyone, and, of course, Gabe with the sign. From left to right: Josh, Gabe, Claire, Jim, Mary, and Matt.

Gabe, passed out after the race.

Thanksgiving...how thankful I am!

2007-11-22T22:30:00.000-05:00

First off, I just want to thank everyone for helping me out and being there for me on this crazy day! Yes, I was whacked broadside by a motorcycle at the entrance of northwest river park. Thankfully, everyone is alright. I bounced right up after being hit and only suffered some minor road rash. I'm a bit heart broken and disappointed because my bike(my BABY) is in worse shape than me. I've seen roadie on roadie crashes worse than my encounter with a motorcycle. To be honest, I expected better battle scars! Nothing is broken and I'm still breathing, so I'm stoked! I'm just wondering how many lives I have left?! And Laura...I TOTALLY got hit on purpose just so I could take off my clothes for ya-you know how I roll!
Thanks again guys! I hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving. Ride tomorrow anyone?

Hey little girl..want some candy???

2007-11-02T01:44:00.000-04:00

So the latest news reveals Lance and Ashley Olson getting up close and personal on Halloween. Not only can Lance survive cancer, win the tour 7 consecutive times, and run the Boston marathon, but he landed himself an Olson twin-AMAZING! Here is an article from the New York Post: Ashley Olsen has a new, older man. The 21-year-old twin showed up to the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel Monday night with Tory Burch's ex, Lance Armstrong, 36. Our bar spy said, "They came together with a group of friends. Ashley drank red wine, sat on his lap and they were making out all night. They left together around 2 a.m." Seriously, can lance be any more pimp???
Not only were they making out, but Ashley has started to wear Lance's Livestrong band....around her waist! I'm just wondering how he confronted her, or a possible pick-up line he used. any ideas? Maybe you don't need one when you've won the tour 7 times...

YEE-HAW

2007-10-28T14:45:00.001-04:00

It is time! She's all done and ready to be ridden hard! My favorite thing are the orange zip ties stolen from Ironcross. I knew I was putting orange tape on the bike so I snagged a few. I'll see everyone out on the cross rides.

Tah-Dah!

2007-10-25T23:11:00.001-04:00

Apparently, I've had a cross bike for almost a year?? Sorry everyone, I've been lying the whole time about my bike or the date on my camera is jacked up. So the cross bike is coming along great and just needs a few more touches. I need a cable stop thingy-majig for the seat post collar and the cable hanger for the steerer tube. A few snips and some dippity do-da's here and there and it will be done! Darn thing is a tank though. I guess that means I can navigate through anything....we'll see!

I have a fetish problem...

2007-10-18T12:19:00.000-04:00

Check it out! The new cross bike is in and NOT ready for action yet...waiting on parts. Sweet! It took forever for the bike to get here. DHL guarantees shipping from 1-6 days and it's been 8! Could I get my money back for that mess, if they can't meet their own guarantees?? Fetish Cycles is the name-check them out...they always have great stuff on sale and they're not "bo-bo" products either. I've seen new carbon wheels for 500 bucks, disc wheels, cross frames that were 500 and now are 150. hot stuff...I know a few people are out there looking for a cross frame-get it while it's hot! Now I am ready for some cross action!

Ironcross race weekend

2007-10-16T14:02:00.000-04:00

Last year I did this race on a mountain bike and I told myself there is no way that I will do it on a mountain bike again. This year I ordered a cyclocross frame before the race and, of course with my luck, I never got it in time for the race. I guess I'm going into this race with a mountain bike, again! Last year when I did the race, I was out of shape and felt like poo. This year, feeling much better on the bike, I felt like I would do better in the race. So in the race, I ate it in that "one corner." Everyone knows that one...flying downhill and I slipped out and almost flew off the mountain side. Wonderful! Then dealing with a loose handlebar grip that slipped a lot...pain in the butt. Come to find out, I did worse than last year! How does that happen??? It beats me, but there are more races to come and it was still a fun time doing Ironcross. Unlike last year, I got to the hostel early the night before the race and thought I would get a good night's sleep. Well, I was wrong. Next year I'll be sure to bring a good supply of breathe right strips and ear plugs to dampen out the heavy breathing, loud snoring, and late night bladder reliefs. I hate calling people out on these things, but you all know who you are! So basically, the race wasn't all that pleasant for me, however, the best part of the weekend was getting to spend time with my friend Cindy and her friend Jenn. They took a road trip to see me and to hang out with the tripower crew. We all went out to dinner at the deer lodge which put a hefty-size hole in my pocket but that awesome steak and sauteed mushrooms was well worth it. For Cindy and Jenn...definitely not mountaineers! Cindy, being off her bike for a good while because of her injury, was out of breath walking down the gravel road to the race course, was followed by a swarm of flying bugs, and believes that the top of the forest is called "the roof." One of these days, I'll get her making fires from sticks. In the meantime, stayed tuned for the new cyclocross bike.

Blood-shot eyes because of cross fever

2007-09-29T05:06:00.000-04:00

Here it is 5AM in the morning on saturday september 29, and i've been up ALL night, and I mean ALLLL night, waiting for a damn auction to end on ebay for my new cross bike. YEE HAW! On top of that, i'll get one hour of sleep and go to the saturday morning morning morning morning MORNING ride that leaves Conte's bike shop. I believe it's all worth it because GOODMORNING ladies and gentlemen, there is a Wal-Mart special on cross bikes and I got myself one! It's about time eh? I believe it's time to get my tired arse in bed or else i'll just go insane from sleep deprivation. Kepp an eye out for me on the morning ride now...I think i just might be a bit squirly and grumpy. Happy trails!

It's time to crack down on cross!

2007-09-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

I believe that I will be getting a cross bike here in the near future-hopefully before Ironcross. Since i've just been riding a lot and not working, I have to spend my greenbacks wisely, no more toys, just food and gas. I usually ride instead of drive now-it's better for the world. I am no longer classified under pimp status; however, I still have cycling in my blood. So what the heck, I can sacrafice the food for a while. I'll just stock up on roman noodles and PB&J! Cross season is here and i'm ready for it! Well, besides the bike; that's on its way!

Cycling Revival

2007-09-14T15:02:00.000-04:00

The road gets pretty boring after a while and the season is over anyway; it's time for mountain biking and cyclocross. Hoping on a mountain bike always seems to bring the fun back into riding for me, so on wednesday night from east coast bikes, rob, steve munk and I headed out to ipswitch(my first time riding there), and it was a blast. Back in Norfolk, we hit up a parking garage and just cruised around town. Around harbor park where the parking lots are, I decided to ride though there....parking blocks everywhere! I had my light so I thought I would be alright and just ride inbetween them and be on my way. well, someone moved the last parking block on me and it came up pretty fast; I almost lost it. The 29er just went over it and my bottle flew off my mike....not me.

A victim of michael vick

2007-09-11T21:26:00.000-04:00

My dog, Nikki (known as Crazy Bitch on the streets), just got released from the animal hospital a few days ago due to a life-threatening bite to the head by one of Michael Vicks' dogs. Ok, seriously...Nikki had a bump on her head for quite a while; a bump that looked like a huge mole. It seemed to be getting bigger over time so we had it checked out and it was determined that it could possibly be cancerous. It had to be removed. When she was in surgery to get it removed, this growth had spread deeper than just that little bump on her head. There was more of it internally all around her muscle. Eventhough she's a bit drugged up now and walking into walls all the time, she's doing great.

The City Life

2007-08-19T19:08:00.000-04:00

My week vacation in D.C! First day I was there, I rode my bike around and totally got lost. It just happened; riding straight and not turning....M street turns into Pennsylvania Ave and that street turns into another and another-all without making a single turn and most of the streets are one way, so turning around was not an option that I wanted to take wow...brain fart. It took me forever to get back and had to ask a few bike messengers for help. I was having too much fun playing in the traffic and hauling butt around the city. I found a Conte's bike shop about a mile from my hotel and talked to the guys there for a while. I ended up doing a super cool ride on tuesday night from the shop there and met plenty of peeps. Riding was fun, but most of my fun consisted of riding the metro around and going to the museums and different cities. the first few days of riding the metro wasnt bad because there wern't many people on them, and I thought...it must be only New York where it's packed with people. I was wrong! One afternoon, I was packed in there like a fresh sardeen holding onto the pole. Around me were about 5 women also holding onto the same pole. I thought to myself...gee, I've never seen so many women on one pole. And here I thoguht these classy business ladies were the ones to stay off the pole. How wrong I was. Ha. Thats just the basic stuff to sum everything up, however, there were plenty of first time experiences for me and I had a blast.

VK-Vanderkitten in D.C!

My favorite

I don't know what they were thinking, but it seems to me that Mr. bonez is getting some resistance.

5, 4, 3....2, 1!

2007-08-14T23:59:00.000-04:00

I'm getting there! The first season that i've gotten serious about racing, i'm working my way up to where I need to be. Started the season off as a cat 5 and moved to a 4 in no time. And now that it's near the end of the season, I just earned enough upgrade points to move to a cat 3. congratulations me! With some cyclocross and road racing next season...i'm shootin for cat 2 by the end of next road bike season. And it will happen!

Can someone say fried eggs?

2007-08-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

Mitch and I rode in Williamsburg on an old road race course and it was HOT! On the way there, i saw a little green escort with a sticker of "the cheat" on the rear window. Who could possibly like that thing? Anyway...I usually go thourgh a waterbottle an hour, and when i'm hooked up to the IV the night before...about a bottle every 2.5 hours. Right! This ride...I went through 6 bottles in 55 miles. We stopped off at some church and it had an outdoor spicket that produced the coldest and best tasting water ever. Holy water? At the time, I just wanted something to drink, but I ended up stripping down and took myself a shower with that water. It felt great! I'll never ride when the weather is that hot again; just too uncomfortable.

As you all may know:

2007-07-20T22:15:00.000-04:00

Yes, I had a falling out with the shop. Better yet, the shop had a falling out with me. After months of harassment and mistreatment from "higher authority figures", I decided that enough was enough; no need to be unhappy with the one thing I have a lifelong passion for-cycling. Nor will I allow for anyone to hold me back or bring me down. I worked there for a little over 3 years and I put my heart into that place because it was what I enjoyed doing and it sucks to be treated the way I was. And so...it's time to move on to better things-the next stepping stone. I didn't need the money; everyone knows I have a few mil stashed away for early retirement because of inheritance. I will not go into detail about the series of events that led up to this, but I still care about everyone on the AAB race team and i'm not ditching any of you; still my friends. It's just the fact that it will be morally impossible for me to wear a jersey with that name on it anymore. There is always a bad guy and a good guy, and i'm sure that all of you will be hearing stories or rumers that will depict me as being one of the two. Whichever you choose to perceive me as is up to you, but I could care less whether anyone thinks of me as being the good guy or the bad guy; however, a business does. To confirm current gossip, I am now racing for tripower.

A dream come true...

2007-07-19T21:32:00.000-04:00

Remember those Sidi's that I cracked the sole on a while ago? Yeah, I finally got new shoes in from Sidi-that company is looking out for me! White Ergo 2's baby! I'm excited. Manimal-

power!

A tremendous weekend

2007-07-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was a 2 series race-the Tour de Port and the Tour de Peake. Saturday was a beautiful day and the course was along the water in Portsmouth, which i felt like jumping into after the race. One road was torn up and had gravel all over...a lot of the roadies didn't like it(do some cyclocross or mountain biking!). I thought it was fun! I finished up with a 3rd place. Afterwards, a few of us went out to Fellini's in Norfolk-my first time! I had an amazing greek pizza and a snickers cheesecake after. Yes, that was my fuel for the next day of racing. That, and amazing belgium waffles for breakfast. The real fun started on sunday with the Tour de Peake. My mom was there! Jessica and her dad were there! What more could I want? It was a tough race because there was a break-a-way and only a handful of people would try to bring it back. The rest were blocking or just in it for the ride, but that's racing. Anyway...i'm not gonna take full credit, but the break-a-way was caught and I survived 2 crashes on the last lap and came in with 2nd place. Ha, a little interview with Joe and his camera across the finish line was fun, but getting the congratulations from my mom, Jess, and her dad was the most rewarding part of my weekend. Back to the question of "what more could I want?" Grilled out ribs as a celebration dinner! I was invited over to dinner at Jessica's house and my mom came with me. All in all, it was the best day of my summer or perhaps one of the best times i've had in a long time. If I had a choice, I'd choose that night to happen every night, over winning the Tour de France any day. It was that good.

A Package for Manimal?

2007-07-12T02:51:00.001-04:00

A box? For me?

Hey, LOOK!

Could it be?

The Hotness!

The build-up

Finished product: Super dope bike! All I need now is a sticker that says "manimal" for the top tube and i'll be set!

Traveling Adventures

2007-07-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

Tolls...throw the change in, gate opens, drive through. Not as easy as it sounds. Mike R. drives up to the toll, throws the change in and starts to drive forward. The gate isn't opening! Ok, lets reverse it and put another quarter in. We reverse, put the quarter in, and the gate opens. Finally, lets get goin. Foot on the gas...woah! We're going BACKWARDS! Ha, lets try this again. D=drive R=reverse. Put it in drive!

An enjoyable post-race snack of gummy bears reminded me of a good freind. Gummy bears-her favorite. I had to reinact a scene she once made of two gummy bears, but I dont think I used the same colors as she did. They didn't last long because I was hungry. Oh yeah, there was a race, kinda. It was really just a long sprint. Talk about a huge disappointment. I had more fun lounging in the passenger seat with my feat out the window, joking around with my friends, and eating gummy bears. Wow! After a little research, I got the colors right, but it seems that the tables have turned. oops.

Bryan park circuit race:

2007-06-17T23:24:00.000-04:00

A beautiful course in Richmond and also the same park where a cross race is held-that makes it even cooler. I've been kinda lazy with riding lately, but I still did well in the race. 3rd place for the 3, 4 race. Not bad. For the whole race, I only had to deal with the annoying "ping, ping, ping" noise of my magnet hitting the sensor whenever I got out of the saddle to accelerate. I was too much of a wimp(good term) to reach down and put my hand centimeters from that front "cutting wheel" to adjust my sensor, so I just put the problem in the back of my mind. Thats what you get for having fancy carbon wheels-aero, but they flex! dope! Enough bike talk. On the way home, me, Mike and Mitch rocked out and sung along to Barry Manilow's "Mandy". Mike was testing me on my music and was asking if I had Celine Dion and all these other "foo foo, love song" artists, so I was like...I have something for you! Singing along to that song was the ONLY bonding we had that day. No, really! While enjoying the ride in the passenger seat, I spotted a police car with "Groome" on it? I dont think thats a city police car guys. Damnit, keep the pedal on the floor Mitch, it's just the groome police! Everyone: look your sexiest as we go by! That was the end of my fun weekend.

Evil Mike!

Mandytee sighting?

2007-06-08T13:27:00.001-04:00

Long-Femur Lozano...middle of the peleton with the great-looking hair. school and bike racing= busy busy busy busy.

Props to Mom

2007-06-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

I got my mom a new bike last year and she has never really touched the thing; however, she has been riding more, which is awesome. She may not be fast but she's out there having fun. 20mph down a small hill gets her super excited and really nervous, but she looks pro because I hook mom up. She'll get there though. She'll be pulling me around at 30mph before I know it. By the way, thanks Butch for calling me a dic!<. Mike H said to Butch: "I was going 31 and steven just pulled away from like nothing and held it off." Butch: "yeah, he's a big dic!<." I know it's a compliment Butch, no worries. ha. So anyway...this weekend was my mom's first "big ride" in the MS150. 150 miles in 2 days (the second day was cut short due to bad weather). Before she left, I fixed up her bike and wrote some tips on a piece of paper that I taped to her top tube. Just basic group riding tips that all of us already know. Except one tip that most people dont know-smile and have fun! That she did. I drove up to see her saturday night and drove all day sunday as mechanical support/mom support. She met a lot of people out there and some of them knew me but I couldn't place their face. All in all, she finished and i'm proud of her. She got her first medal, ever! Now that she's actually riding and has hung out/talked with a lot of cyclist, she is starting to understand me more. cool. Here's a picture of my lovely mom riding in the rain. Dont let her fool you, she's ___ and she's still super hot...it's a celebrity thing

A job well done by the manimal

2007-06-03T19:52:00.000-04:00

I'm always trying to put a smile on someone's face and having fun by doing stuff that is out of the ordinary or just super cool. Usually when something is up, "It's Steven, damn him!" Most of the time I get the response of "you're such a loser." Yeah, I can see that, but whether it's upgrading half your bike without permission-no charge, washing your car without you knowing because it hasn't been washed in 6 months-my jeep still remains dirty, sending flowers, or even TPing a car which, by the way, is hard work and took a lot of time, the manimal is always on fire, even off the bike. Those of you who know me really well, watch out!

More useful information to those who could care less about the things I do in my daily life- The manimal will be riding a Salsa Chili Con Crosso durring the cross season. Super hot bike! It's green and you gotta love the name.

Before and after the WOO WOO

2007-05-29T11:03:00.001-04:00

It looks like Mandy wants to pimp her whip with a "woo-woo whistle tip." Here's a before and after for ya of her integra-a few more modifications than just a whistle tip. She's supa pimp now because she's got a VK licnese plate too.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Mandy hates that she laughed

2007-05-27T22:40:00.001-04:00

but omigod she is totally pimping her Acura

2007-05-22T00:45:00.000-04:00

WWW.JESSLEHMAN.BLOGSPOT.COM

Daily Events

2007-05-19T19:37:00.000-04:00

Fish said to me: "How long are you gonna' bang your head into a brick wall until you realize that it hurts?"
Steven: "Until I break through."

A customer came into the shop today that Jess approached and he just happened to be interested in a bike. Jess said, "Would you like to test ride it?" The customer responded, "I'd ride it but i've had a few beers. I really shouldn't be driving." Splendid!

The End

Police Unity Tour

2007-05-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

This is a huge event in which I have supported for 3 years sraight, so far. Police officers from all around the country ride in memory of fallen officers-some ride all the way from Florida to New York, and others from Chesapeake, Virginia to Washington DC. Like every year, this ride is exciting in every way posible. With all the riders and support vehicles-it stretches out for about 3 miles and is police escorted. About 20 motorcycle cops, 10 police cars and about 25 other support vehicles. This year, we started off with about 400 riders. It split up and went down to about half, then they all rejoined on the third day-going into Washington DC. 2 mechanics in a Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter van for 400 riders. ouch! I rock at it though. Hangin out the side of the van, jumping out while it's moving, grabing the persons bike and hoping in the back while the rider gets in the side door. Once I fix the mechanical issue, our driver speeds up to the main filed as I stand outside the van while holding the bike on a platform extending from the reciever hitch that is just inches from the ground. Once we're up to the main field, I jump off and get the rider back in the ride. It's intense but very fun. We're talkin about a lot of 1 minute tyre changes-no spare wheels, just tubes and tyres. Damn i'm good. Because of all my amazing work, i'm always geting compliments such as...."I love your hair." I just can't get away from it all! But these women had handcuffs. uh oh. Back on subject...After 8 or 9 hours of riding, it's time for the fun to begin...
I couldn't bring my bike because of the lack of space; however, the manager of the shop drove up for 2 hours with my bike and some other supplies. I could only ride at night after our work for the day was done, but I loved every bit of it. I had my helmet light and I was set. I can honestly say that i've never been happier to see my bike. We had the kegorator in the back of the van will a full keg of Stella Artois. The riders/police officers loved it after a long day of riding. After that keg was gone, we had Sam Adams-not as good. After the first day, this hot officer babe, Cameron, that does the hotel room reservations had left us out of a room; all the rooms were occupied. It's hard when you have 400 people to take care of for hotel rooms. Since she left us out, we ended up getting the hotel suite and our rooms are paid for, free of charge. Sweet! After I discovered she got us the suite, because she played it off, I had to thank her. A little time in the hotel hottub should do it, ya? Some other donut sucking officers were there(and the donuts showed); however, I showed up after my ride and jumped in the hottub wearing my bib shorts. O baby! The second night of festivities involved about 100 drunk officers in a hotel parking lot. Thanks to the medical support from 2 of the 4 ambulances, we had gurney drag races in the parking lot. In each gurney, a person was strapped in, and about 4 people would push to the finish line. 2 of the paramedics disappeared for a while and showed up on the second floor balcony with water balloons and then the war began. Chucking water balloons at everyone in the parking lot below, it was time for payback. A few of the the big, Arnold Schwarzenegger type officers snatched them up and carried them to the indoor pool-throwing them in. A few episodes of this, the pool was shut down, schucks. Shortly after that, buckets of water were being dumped on people, including me, the mechanic! hey, uh guys....you do know that I work on your bikes, right? Rubbing breaks really suck when you get into the hills. ha. It was great though. We were also strictly told not to drink alcoholic beverages in the parking lot because it is considered drunk-in-public and if we got in trouble, the police would take care of it. Thanks Ms. Manager bi*** of the Ramada. We are the police! Another festivity that almost took place-bra bowling. Someone snagged one of the support lady's EE bra, and thought we could use it as a sling shot. It never went into action because of the pool dunking. Oh well.

The last day of riding, from fredericksberg to Washington DC, was great. When the riders from all the different chapters of this ride united at the pentagon, it was amazing. Over 1000 riders all wearing the same symbolic jerseys which says "We ride for those who died" on the back. Some of them haven't rode 100 miles on a bike in their life and they pushed themselves to do over 100 miles day after day; all because of the driving force behind the meaning of this entire ride-their friends and loved ones that have risked their lives and have died on the call of duty. Loved ones which were memorialized on their bikes by photos ziptied to their stems or saddles.

This was Just one of the rest stops on the way to Washington DC. Freakin' awesome!

Reporting from the Central Time Zone

2007-05-10T10:46:00.000-04:00

on the day before the joe martin stage race, the mandy misses her buddy the manimal yet is content and feeling ready and rockin. or is it rockin and ready? mandy fondly remembers the jmsr being her first stage race as a pro last year. holy droppage! she is not as thin as in years past. this could equal more droppage or less...women's racing is strange that way. it's nearly every day that a skinny girl gets left in the dust by one with cottage cheese under her spandex.
ew.
compare. what happened?

jmsr 2006

pre-jmsr 2007

A few shout-outs and thank you's

2007-05-09T01:07:00.000-04:00

JB-a fellow cyclist and also an awesome photographer. He might not have a fancy 600mm lens, because he'd rather spend that on a new bike, however, his shots are some of the best. His work consists of the U.S open Cycling Championships, Tour of Virginia, and many local races. In the Tour of Virginia, JB was the man to see. The supposed winner of stage 6 was later relagated because of the evidence that JB provided with his photos. Not ony that, he makes the manimal look good too-especially in the soon-to-come Cycling Manimal speedo calendar. Thanks JB. Check out his shots at http://love2ridephotoszzz.blogspot.com/

Kevin-a.k.a "dingo" as Rob calls him. His blog sometimes freaks me out with his crazy and distorted macbook photos of himself, but he's always about some manimal action-just cycling action! The rest is for...

Mandy-you know what goes here. For everyone else...she hates crocs, thinks they're horrendous. I know...I don't understand it either. Who cares about Donald Pliner boots, crocs are the shit! She should have her own cooking/baking show on tv(screw Rachel Ray), she's beautiful, funny, intelligent and very determined-saving the world everyday. And before soon, she'll be getting her MBA from one of the finest business schools in the world-awesome! Not to mention...she loves cats and has approved the cycling manimal's speedo calendar. Ha! She's supportive of my decisions and is always the one to say "go for it," no "shoulds." Simply the best.

Rob and Susan...what would I do without you two? Probably go crazy. Like the above said, supportive and always the ones to say "go for it." I've never met anyone who is more enthusiastic about the sport and lifestyle of cycling than Rob himself-a huge motivator for the manimal and always has me FIRED UP! If anyone can see the future, it's these two. No worries guys, it's right around the corner. Until then, lets meet on the roof sometime-bring some beer, fireworks, water balloons, and we're in business. Rob...Operation "kicking cupcakes" is complete. The unicorn has been rescued. I repeat, the unicorn has been rescued.

Mitch...i'm positive that he was one of the origional cast members of the Beverly Hill Billies. He just knows that i'm the best mechanic and rapper around. Wraping handlebar tape that is. I just like to turn my hat to the side when I wrap tape so I can call my self a rapper. Word!

Norfolk Classic

2007-05-07T00:09:00.000-04:00

Moi in front, leading into the cobbles.

One of the most exciting races of the year, so far. First race with my 4 upgrade. After 5 laps, everyone in the field was like..."your name must be steven huh?" Thats because at every corner and every straight-away, there were people cheering me on. I had a lot of fans out and it was inspirational. Rob was standing on top of a statue(featured as a centerpiece in the cobbled section) waving a huge Lion of Flanders flag screaming "manimal" as loud as possible. My name quickly changed from manimal to steven because, apparently, manimal has too many syllables and is hard to scream-I dont blame him. Susan came out with Rob and cheered me on. The most unexpected person showed up-Jess. That's like getting someone who lives in the space station to come see me race. Absent for the start, but she was there by the second lap with her pops-i'm his hero.

This race was F-U-N! Pssh, wind shmend! Yeah, it was windy as H-E-double-hockey-sticks(50mph gusts), but it wasn't much of a problem. It blew me across the road like everyone else but I just blew back at it...like Boonen would do, only manimal style. I was in the front 5 positions for the entire race and chased down every attack. 38-40mph sprint finish-I threw my bike out for second place. Hoorah! A handful of these races and i'll be a 3. The best part: the cobble stone section with the bright yellow Lion of Flanders flag whippin' in the wind. This is gettin me pumped up for cross season-much like the long-femur cyclocross queen. :)

kevin, was this your doing?

2007-05-06T08:34:00.000-04:00

http://www.bikereg.com/events/ConfList.asp?ID=4541

I was checkin out the race entries and saw my name listed as Steven (manimal) Locklear. Now thats freakin awesome! Thanks kevin for listing me like that.

What do bad-ass mo-fo's ride? White Regal saddles!

2007-05-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I'm no Tom Boonen, but I can pull this one off.

Another one bites the dust!

2007-04-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

Another victory by the Manimal. I'm sorry guys, I know this stuff is becoming old. I'd rather get dropped by some tough competition than win or place in the top 5 every time, really! I need some competition! Thats right, i'm a sandbagger-that's what happens when you go for years and years of a lot of riding and no racing. That's alright, i've got some insiders who are working to fix things for moi. Enough about me. I'd really like to thank all the guys on the team for helping me out and cheering me on. Mitch, I know you're excited because I beat the guy in the zebra skinsuit that you love so much. Albe, dont get sick again, ever! JB, Dan-bo, Kevin: it was good seenin' you all and the rest of the team.

Caution: Extremely Hot!

2007-04-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

Finally, it's here! Trek's new single speed 69er! Now I know the reasoning behind the name; riding this bike is sensational, arousing, and spine-tingling, much like...you guessed it. If your hot babe upsets you or pisses you off, this is the bike to ride-hands down! It will never turn you down or disappoint you-this bike wants to be ridden hard and it can handle it. Ha, on another note, the name really stands for the 26" wheel on the rear, and the 29" wheel on the front; hence the name, 69er. The only turn off for this bike is that you have to carry 2 rubbers at all times. Yes, you'll have to pack an extra emergency spare. Trust me, it's well worth it. For those of you that are familiar to the 26" wheels, you'll be glad to carry the bigger 29" rubber. You might even impress a few people. The 26" wheel quickly accelerates the bike through tight switch-backs while the bigger 29" front wheel rolls over just about anything in your path with ease and confidence. The combination of the two wheels also provide better traction on steep climbs because the larger front wheel sets you back, putting more of your weight on the rear wheel, all while maintaining perfect positioning and stability. Gary Fisher(Trek owned) has had a line of 29" mountain bikes for quite some time and continues to dominate the two-niner market. Since Trek has the technology and experience of Gary Fisher behind them, they have produced one bad-ass single-speed machine. For someone who has a super dope(sorry rob) 29" Gunnar Rockhound, i'm impressed with Trek's newborn 69er.

To all of my cycling buddies

2007-04-08T13:36:00.000-04:00

On monday, wednesday, friday and sunday(when there is no race), i'll be doing rides. Rides between 70 miles and 120 miles. They're long boring rides by yourself and i'm just trying to get some company! I'm gonna try to get out to those tuesday night rides out of GB so I can put down the hammer and tear my legs off as well as everyone elses; however, I will have to leave work early-i'm workin on that part. Gotta hire more people. I also take some trips up to C-ville, afton, lynchberg area to cruise around in the mountains. Just send me an email if you wanna get up and ride sometime or call the shop. slocklear8859@email.vccs.edu or steven@allaboutbikes.org 757-382-7878 or 757-638-7878(talk to Rob, my coach/director sportif) -keep the rubber side down!

A busy weekend.

2007-04-02T17:22:00.000-04:00

I don't feel like typing much but I did a race, traveled, race, traveled, race, back home. Last race of the weekend was gay because there was a bad crash and the dude that crashed was in the middle of the road for the next 3 laps(hit his head pretty hard) and 2 dudes decide to attack as soon as the crash happened-talk about a cheesy way to get ahead. Panzies! I didn't know about the break-a-way until 3 laps later when I heard "20 seconds!" I broke off to catch these 2 guys and I was in a 'pickle' the whole time. That's baseball terms people! I was solo for half the race and slowly gaining time on these guys while the main field was charging behind me. I also had no water bottle because, earlier, some of the racers were blocking me in on the inside, so I decided to do a little trick and go mountain biking over these speed bumps on the inside of the track. At that moment, I was riding a 6 thousand dollar pogo-stick and so my water bottle bounced out-didn't know it until I went on my break-a-way and tried to grab some water. My MTB skills scared the shit out of everyone and they got out of my way. I dont mess around people! With a few laps to go, teammate Joe gave it his all to bridge-the-gap from the main field up to me to help me out. He even gave me his water. You're the best Joe! By the last lap, we had about 8 or so seconds left on them and we didn't quite make it. A third place finish is alright I suppose. Joe finished 4th a little ways behind me then the main field came in. What a day! Exciting, yet disappointing on my part.

Jefferson Cup-A perfect day!

2007-03-26T14:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah Mike! Keep your hands on the bars dude; it's no time to play around! Is that a smile?

Bill-always attacking.

D-Bo! Love the new wheels!

On my cloud.

A well deserved meal after a great day. Chipotle: the best place ever! Take a close look at the light. How cool is that?

And check this out...I was just at the race to have fun, see some friends, and support, however, I still get my photo taken. I was on my bike racing against Jess in her car(I did beat her once) and apparently I had my photo taken. That's how I train...I race cars. Try it, it works! Here's the picture. Splendid! Take pictures of the racers, not me!

Grand Prix de Santa Ana

2007-03-19T22:48:00.000-04:00

In order to check out the progress of the Grand Prix de Santa Ana, I had to dig up some Español skills that I haven't used in forever. What are you looking for? STT(Schick Target Training)! Root for them! Their clothing is made by Champion Systems; same people we're getting our clothing from-awesome stuff. Good ol' Charlie does not recommend the white shorts-what a bummer! I think my rump would look spectacular in white cycling shorts Charlie! A bit late in the game, but i'll have to design something else. The cyclocross skinsuits...they're gonna be on fire! Check out all the links!

Finally, Manimal action.

2007-03-11T20:49:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from the race! It's about time I start racing! I'm kinda like Matt Damon in the movie Good Will Hunting; he's a math genius but doesn't apply himself-I was the same way with riding and racing. Not any more!

We have a kick-ass team! We all had a great performance. My director sportif and coach, Rob, decided to join the race and was involved in a crash. I dedicate my win to Rob! Also, I dont have to hear Andy yell at me anymore. Everytime I see him, the first thing he says is "you better win!"(EVERYONE tells me that; it's a lot of pressure guys! ok, not really.) I swear, I heard that so much from him, I'm surprided that I haven't seen a billboard on the road saying "you better win!" with Andy's face beside it. Or on TV- "pardon the interruption, but Andy wants to tell Steven that 'he better win!' Ok, now back to the program..." Jess was in town and had to leave before the race, but she decided to delay her departure so she could be my #1 motivator, supporter, podium girl....etc. Her mom and pops even joined her to come support me. Awesome!

For the win!
Podium girls: Jess and Susan!

Oh baby, oh baby

2007-03-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

So today i decided to go to Afton, Va and do more hill riding. It took me 2 hours to get out of Chesapeake because of traffic(cars suck!). I didn't know what was holding traffic up and I didn't want to find out-I just found an alternate way to get off my island. Check out the wierd truck I saw. It looks like a small truck in the bed of a larger truck? I've never seen a truck like it before-kinda wierd I think. I'm not always the smartest guy, but i had to take a picture of that. It's a bit difficult trying to take a picture of the car in front while using the zoom feature! Yeah...the zoom really screws up your perception when you're looking at the camera display and driving. It's like driving with binoculars-it seems like the car is 5 feet away but it's really half a mile up the road. Freaky! Oh right, I finally started my ride at 12:30. whew! After my long day of driving and riding, I found out that my new TT helmet came in. It's sick! It even matches "the shark!" Even though it may look like it, i'm not wearing it around my house-it's back in the box. Come to think of it, I don't know why women like men who are cyclist; we're always trying to get a faster time. Sorry, random thoughts popping out. Later!

Is that crazy looking or what? Or do I just have mental problems?

You see, thats the damn zoom! Try to picture going 70mph and looking at that through a screen and the car is actually way up the road.

Even I'd have to say thats pretty gay.

More blogity blog bike stuff

2007-03-08T00:29:00.000-05:00

Any ideas on what this is?

Almost there...The new shop is kicks-ass! I know someone who has hand towels in her bathroom with the same colors. Wierd coincidence when i saw that.

Gucci build of the day. Roi bicycles-first time i've seen/heard of these guys. Just another carbon bike really.

This is a don't! That applies to Rob's stylish fashon and posing like that next to another guy. Not a good image.

I don't know about other people, but cutting up a carbon bike ALWAYS makes my day better.

Where's my parachute?

2007-03-05T01:11:00.000-05:00

I'm out riding the shark! (Should have used the carbon wheels, they would have helped out) That was actually in the parking lot of a Food Lion(start of the DDTT) that just so happens to be the explanation for the Food Lion nickname of "Ghetto Cat." Yeah...we were potiential targets for robbery-driving around with bikes on the roof and wearing spandex. later on, After my hard day of riding, I almost busted my chin open for a 4th, 5th and 6th time trying to walk up stairs. Yeah, I fell 3 times going up and down stairs. My legs were noodles. My time trial needs imporvements, so it's time to start the "ride til you puke" program.

Some things bother me

2007-03-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

There isn't much to say about this one because it's oh, so obvious! I dont know what anyone else thinks about this, but I like to think that i'm normal, and seeing "industrial strength" on a can on pasta sauce raises some questions in my mind; questions that i'm not too comfortable with. Whatever it is that crazy, old Newman is up to, it's definitely in the wrong direction.

Good Save

2007-02-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

Today was Mom's birthday and I almost forgot about it-i'm getting old. Since she was born on the leap year, I could save myself the trouble of remembering every year and just celebrate her birthday every 4 years, but since i'm so nice, I cut her some slack and celebrate it on the 28th. As a last minute thing, I snagged her a chintzy cake from ghetto cat, took their entire stock of birthday candles, and I was on my way. First thing she said, "I figured you forgot about my birthday."
"well damn, if it's like that, i'll take the cake back MOM!"
"you should, all those candles make me feel old-those candles will cremate me if i light them all."
I made her day though, even if all those candles erupted into a massive inferno and almost burnt down her house. Nice!

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

2007-02-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

Another day in the life of steven...

The day started off with the sight of a great billboard-props to the sleep center of Chesapeake General Hospital. I rolled up to the shop in my whip and decided to block Rob's car in(by the end of the day when Mr. B showed up, i was the one blocked in. Karma i tell you; it gets me everytime). Shortly after, i recieved news of a customer who likes to make himself at home around the shop just a bit too much. Before i arrived at the shop, this customer took my bike down and went to take my saddle off (OFF!) so he could buy it! People, we're talking about going to the back(employees only), getting an allen wrench, and taking my saddle off. WAAAAH!! Good thing Rob was there to stop this criminal behavior-i'll be good and keep this section PG, so i'll leave it at that. The saddle incident greatly disturbed Rob and I. A song by the Beatles came on, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and cheered me up; however, Rob was still spastically shaking. We were given the permission from another customer to toss out their bike because there was no hope in repairing it. What did we do? Bike toss! We destroyed that bike by just throwing it and smashing it into whatever. It's custom now...aerodynamic smashed-in top tube, extra bend in the handlebar, multiple cracks in rear wheel. I found out that i had a lot of built up anger because i was doing most of the destruction. Everyone claims that i'm upset because i haven't heard from a friend in a few days, but i think i was just having a fun time. Life was great at the end of the day-heard a great song, tossed a around a bike, did some rare and unexpected modeling, talked to a girl who wants to wear a white skinsuit for me. Rob was better for one of the following reasons: he saw my mankini modeling picture, me modeling his new vintage wool jersey, the bike toss, cool cycling coffee, or the beer and his babe at the end of the day. I sure hope it was the last one.

Retarded

Hey, it's custom!

The wrath of Troy continues

2007-02-16T21:05:00.000-05:00

Another disturbing bumper sticker made by Troy. It takes a sick mind to have this kind of creativity, but it's great entertainment. Somebody please give that man some better med's.

2007-02-14T20:58:00.000-05:00

Don't know who, but someone is a big fan around the shop. #1 is good, but like i say, if you set yourself to a certain limit, you mentally block yourself to grow past that limit. And there is always room for growth; even if you're #1.

Homemade bumper stickers from Glamour Magazine

2007-02-14T01:45:00.000-05:00

Good ol' Troy-always up-to-date on the coolest bumper sticker trends. Victim: Rob's sweet Volvo 240.

Rob has a request for new stuff

2007-02-14T01:22:00.000-05:00

Alright Rob, how's this for new stuff? I pitched in my donations for the shop beer account and Susan brought me back some delicious Stella that just happened to contain a Gentleman's guide to Romantic Perfection(for you). As for me, she got me a succulent York Peppermint Patty and we shared a delightful Almondjoy candy bar together! She knows how you dont like coconut, so she came to me so fulfill her needs. ok, all of that was just a bunch of b/s, but hey...beers are in the fridge(dont mess with the ribollita), and you have a See's Candy lollypop next to the computer waiting for you-a gift from Mandy, to me, to you. Enjoy!

Bad luck strikes again

2007-02-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

Damn the Sidi's, damn them! I've only had the shoes for 3 months and thay've failed me-cracked! This is gonna be the blog that everyone reads so they don't feel so bad about their life. well hey, shit happens. On a better note, the weather was great today, i had an awesome ride, and thanks to Rob, my new name is Mandymal-life couldn't be better. With a name like that, i am bound to be slower. Ouch, that's gonna hurt later, i know it.

Manimal kryptonite

2007-02-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

It's about the little things in life. On a day where everything goes wrong-such as today-only two things were able to make it better, and this coconut was one of those things. Strange, i know.
-Swaping pedals and cutting your hand on a chain ring is NEVER fun.
-Playing "catch-up" because you're late for a ride: sucks.
-It's 35 degrees and windy. Because you're late, you decide to skip out on some necessary clothing and freeze-to-death: misserable. (Thawing-out process: 1 hour)
-Bonking on a ride: soul-crushing!

My buddy mitch stayed with me and made a pit-stop for a few succulent candy bars which resulted in a full recovery. This rare event gave everyone a boost of confidence because they finally saw me crack-the guy that rips off their legs and leaves their extremities scattered in the street. Dont get too excited guys; i'll be back. It was only a hiccup; a bad day in the mountains for Marco Pantani. When it comes down to it, there isn't a single day that i don't have fun on my bike. Today was just a good experience. Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.

2007-01-31T20:27:00.000-05:00

2007-01-30T20:25:00.000-05:00

Roller Derby is back! The local Dominion Derby Girls Rocked the competition in a fierce battle against the Wilmington City Ruff Rollers. There is something overwhelming about a sport where tattoo-covered women go out in a ring wearing tore up fishnet stockings, short skirts and go by names such as Hard Hittin' Honkey, Hemi Girrrl, and Mother Jugs. These babes play dirty! I was fortunate enough to get a picture with Hard Hittin' Honkey and her exceptionally nice, shake n' bake, rump.