Digital Ink Los Angeles

One-hundred and ninety years ago this summer, the two-wheeled “Dandy Horse” became popular with several London and Paris townies who were looking for a little freedom from their idea of bipedalism: walking. These riders shuffled their feet along the ground, much like Fred Flintstone, to achieve mobility and forward progress. Unfortunately, the lack of a crank-shaft and custom-sizing prevented the two-wheeler from catching on.

However, in the 1860s, the French vélocipède bicycle was created by attaching rotary cranks and pedals to the front-wheel hub of a “Dandy Horse,” and the bicycle was born.

Nowadays, around the streets of Los Angeles, there’s a dramatic increase in the numbers of bicyclists, and the trend is led by myriad groups of spirited “Fixed-Gear” bicycle riders who like traveling without the luxury of brakes. See the LA Times article here.

Thanks to DoobyBrain.com and their assessment of current “Fixed-Gear” trends in the illustration here to the left. The image reflects the funny, quirky culture of fixed-gear enthusiasts.

The following link has some great Fixed-Gear bike images, because it is a Fixed Gear Bike Gallery.

July 2009 marks the 106th year and 95th racing of the Tour de France.

Get out and ride! Live Strong!

Pioneerof The Nile Outraces Chocolate Candy

I thought I had my luck running for me when a an older Asian man tapped me on the shoulder and offered me a $1 pass for admission. If you have any idea for the nature of betting on sports events, luck plays quite a big role in gaining an edge on the competition.

I thanked the man, taking this picture, and joined the queue with more than 50,000 race fans to watch the 74th running of the Santa Anita Derby.

Santa Anita Racetrack is the sacred greens about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles that made horses like Gentlemen and Seabiscuit famous.

If you’ve never been to a horse race like this before, it’s a visual and aural pleasure to watch and hear the pageantry of every imaginable walk of life assembling in awe to watch these four-legged creatures fly around an oval track.

And Santa Anita Racetrack brings out all the bells and whistles for this event, with Mariachi entertainers, free t-shirts, and a hard-rock band serenading drunken race revelers with oldies like Iron Maiden and Van Halen.

On a sunny Southern California Saturday afternoon, legendary owner-trainer Bob Baffert walked into the sunlight and showed his characteristic nonchalance. Bob Baffert is the most successful man in horse racing today, having won 8 Triple Crown events in the last ten years — including the Kentucky Derby in ’97, ’98, and ’02. He’s got another nice 3-year old this year with Pioneerof The Nile.

My chance to interview Bob was interrupted by NBC Sports, whose live telecast of the event was being streamed into homes around the world, many wishing they could be trackside, like me.

His horse, Pioneerof The Nile, was the odds-on favorite to win the Santa Anita Derby at 3-5, and the crowd knew they were looking at a Kentucky Derby contender.

With a concerted effort to push his horse through a slow pace, jockey Garrett Gomez led the eventual Santa Anita Derby winner into an out-front lead that he never relinquished, winning by a neck at the wire.

You can see LA Times’s Sports Editor Bill Dwyre‘s coverage of the race here:  Santa Anita Derby.

For the record, I bet on Chocolate Candy, who finished second to Baffert’s horse. Chococlate Candy is owned by the weight-loss guru, Jenny Craig. Chocolate Candy won the California Derby, so I saw it running away with this one. At least, I thought it had a chance.

To hedge my bet on the beautiful, chocolate-brown pony, I decided to box an exacta with Baffert’s beast — a classic bettor’s move, entitling you to a take on the house purse by letting the favorite play out its role.

Nothing like putting a little bit of greenbacks into your pockets, all while enjoying a beautiful day at the races…