Time again for Fort Myers Bear Polo 2

Fort Myers Bike Polo presents FORT MYERS BEAR POLO 2
A bike awareness weekend May 13th-15th 2011

Friday :
BIKE PROM 5-9 PM
Cool Hand Luc’s 2040 Collier Ave.
7 Mile casual ride escorted by Fort Myers Police Department
Formal Dance Party/Crowning of King & Queen

Saturday :
BEAR POLO 2
Allen Park Elementary 3345 Canelo Drive
$15 PER TEAM
Registration 9AM
Games 11AM
3vs3 Double Elimination/2 Courts/10min Games
*HELMETS REQUIRED*
Fort Myers Schwinn will have a repair tent.
No Whining No Fighting

Sunday : GRASSCOURT PICK-UP 11AM-dark
Seminole Park(Arthur Ave.) 6 streets south of Allen Park.
Music/BBQ/Polo!!

Location

See map: Google Maps

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Another cold winter in Saint Petersburg Florida but it doesn’t stop bike polo. Click here to see late evening bike polo coverage.

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We had to post this. Unbelievable… Via link

Above: A mug shot from the arrest.

During a Sunday pick-up game, ten members and one spectator of the Milwaukee Bike Polo Club were arrested and charged with “trespassing a dwelling” at the O’Donnell parking structure in downtown Milwaukee. Below is a first hand account:

An unmarked Buick Century approached with three undercover sheriff’s deputies.  The officers sprung out of the car and instantly shouted “every one come here and against the wall”.  They count us out eleven then proceeded to note, “I thought there were 12” (Lodi had snuck out 5 mins before the bust).  The officer then told us that we were under arrest and would be receiving trespassing tickets for $263 each.  We tried to talk our way out of the situation but that lasted about 30 seconds. One by one we gave our information and received a ticket.  We were then told by one of the officers that we were being detained but no is under arrest, specifically he said “if you are asked by a cop or employer have you ever been arrested say no”. We were then zipped tied and the officers explained that we would be going downtown to be processed and released and that it should not take too long, that essentially “it’s just like a speeding ticket”. This led to confusion for us since when you get a speeding ticket, you don’t usually go to jail, right?

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

The officers then proceeded 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.  Repeatedly the officers noted “Damn, I thought this would be much easier!” and complained that they would not be able to listen to the Packer game in their warm car. We finally get our bags together and they start grabbing our bikes.  Since our bikes are rather important to us, we protested with “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 they gave us all a nice sticker or new spoke card identifying our bikes.  The officers then threw all of our bikes in a big bus.

Next, we followed our bikes into the back of the bus, which is as cold as freezer since the temperatures outside were around negative ten degrees with the wind chill (I believe the Allen Bradley tower was showing a temperature of about ten degrees without the wind chill).  We sat in the bus for about fifteen minutes before moving and then we were off to the county court house.  Upon arriving the female officer noted how cold the back of the bus was despite the fact that apparently she was “dying” of the heat in the front.  The officers then rolled their eyes and helped us out of the bus.  We are then handcuffed to a bench and are individually given a quick run through of our bags, throwing out any food and looking for weapons.  Then off to the next room, where we found another bench with cuffs.

We sat in this room amongst true criminals.  Shoulder to shoulder with thieves, drug addicts, and prostitutes.  Some of us sat waiting, chained to a bench for up to 8 hours, without knowing what the next step was going to be.  I was the lucky one who got called first.  They took me into a room searched, my bag, had me sign a form detailing the contents of my bag, 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 to wait and wait.

Next, they call you up for a few questions, including what the highest grade in school you achieved, missing any teeth, job, tattoos, you name it.  Next it’s picture time, then on to prints.  Then back to the bench.  Finally Brian made it through, I thought to myself, I finally have someone to talk to.  At around ten in the evening (mind you we had been arrested just after five), there was a shift change, leading to an hour of officers standing around chatting and trying to figure out the situation.  Then one player at time, we watched everyone get searched and make it into our room.  Since our bags were so big, it took some people up to 40 minutes to be fully searched.

We asked numerous people what the next for us was going to be, with some saying simply “that’s not my job” and others responding with “you’re going up stairs to a cell”. Once the officers figured out that we were there for bike polo, they laughed and said things along the lines of  “I can’t believe that the sheriffs would waste everyone’s time with a book and release for a simple citation”.  After a few hours they stopped laughing and were legitimately angry that we were still coming through while the line was being backed up with real criminals.

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

Video link 1, Video link 2

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HERE IS THE REST OF THE POLO MATCH PIC’S..

Here is a google map for WoodLawn Park:

View Larger Map

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$8 to race — includes a free shirt for the first 50 to register!

Noon- Bike Polo Crescent Lake Tennis Courts

4:30 p.m.- Registration (North side of the park-Dock next to the playground)

6:00 p.m.- Manifests

6:30 p.m.- Start
Helmets and lights are strongly suggested (race will be ending after dusk)
Post race party with a yet-to-be-named super-secret DJ

Huffy Toss
Mad Max Footdown
Beer chug no-spill footdown (+21)
Bike tug-o-war

Beer for those 21 and up (bring your ID!)

Parking along Crescent Lake Drive and 5th St. N. on either side of the park. The finish/afterparty will be a short bike ride from the park.

Sponsors to include:

Northeast Cycles
66 Fixed
Wolf Baggage
Tampa Bay Bike Co-op
Kelby.com/ Cycle De Solei
The Finest Skateshop (St. Petersburg)
Headset
The HorroH LTD.

Beer provided by:
Narragansett
Erie Brewing Co.
Abita
Southampton

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Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Open
Saturday July 18th
Open Invitational Bike Polo Tournament
Denver, Colorado
Registration At 11am, Games Start At Noon
Goldsprints Afterparty

Teams of 3
Individual Players Welcome to Join Mixed Teams Day Of Tournament
Registration $5/person $15/team
Pre-Register yourself or your team at www.onenationundercog.com with credit/debit/paypal
Pre-Order T-shirts will be available on CogNation website starting July 1st and day of tournament – $10/shirt

Email Adam at denvermalletmafia@gmail.com for more info

Hosted by CogNation www.onenationundercog.com and Denver Mallet Mafia www.malletmafia.com

Sponsored by:
-CogNation
-Milwaukee Bicycle
-Urban Velo
-Solder Gal
-One Fixed
-All Custom Apparel
-Geekhouse
-Spokepunchers
-Trackstar NYC
-Yancopads
-Egrem Clothing Trend
-Velocity

Loads of Free Stuff!

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How you build your bike polo mallet is totally up to you. There are many ways to make one, with new ways evolving often. Tink in DC has a Flickr set with his how to. There is a Boise blog with a how to called “Mallet making 101“. I have a method that works well for me, here it is.

With a few basic tools you can build a bike polo mallet of your own. Sometimes finding materials is more difficult than construction.

Items you will need:
Ski poles. Usually found at thrift stores. Only use Aluminum poles, also look for ones straight and longer than 46″ uncut.

*Don’t use the white PVC found in hardware stores, it breaks easily.*

One type, as seen below, tested and well liked by many NYC players can be ordered by the foot from Mcmasters.com. (Must enter part number 8705k18)

One bolt and nut. (1/4″-20 is used in photo)
A plug or cap for the ski pole
A roll of hockey tape for the grip.

Tools you will need:
A hacksaw
A power drill
A few drill bits, 1/2″, 9/16″ & 5/8″ spade bits and a 15/64″ twist bit to drill hole for 1/4″ bolt
An adjustable wrench

1. Remove the molded plastic hand grip from ski pole. This can be tough, try holding it upside-down with the grip between your feet. Pull on the ski pole and try to kick the grip off by pushing it away from you. Never cut the top of a ski pole because you want to only cut the tapered end.
2. From the top, measure the desired length for the mallet and cut the tapered end of the ski pole.

3. Cut the plastic pipe to the width desired, 6 inches is good.
4. Mark where the hole will be for the ski pole to fit into the mallet head. It is best to make the hole in the middle of the mallet head.
5. Now measure the diameter of the ski pole at the end. Most of the time the spade bit size will be 1/2″, 9/16″, or 5/8″. Remember, you want a tight fit so don’t drill the hole too large.

6. Some options when drilling the mallet head are to only drill a hole in the top,

drill a hole in top and bottom, or to drill a hole in top and a partial hole on the inside of the bottom. With the third method, the partial hole acts as a “cup” for the end of the ski pole to “sit” in. This adds stability, but eliminates the chance of the ski pole sticking out the bottom of the mallet head. Using a spade bit gets a good “cup” effect when drilling.

7. Insert the ski pole into the mallet head.


8. Before you drill a hole for the bolt that will hold the two together, make sure the bit is long enough to go all the way through the mallet head.

And when you drill be sure to go through the ski pole too.

Also, using a drill bit 1/64 of an inch smaller than the bolt will give you a tight fit. After you make the hole you will need to thread the bolt through.

9. After the bolt is installed, tighten the nut enough to slightly distort the plastic, this will keep the nut from vibrating loose.
10. Cut off the exposed threads with the hacksaw.


11. Plug the grip end of the mallet.
* ALWAYS PLUG MALLET ENDS * DON’T CORE SAMPLE YOURSELF OR FRIENDS * IT CAN HAPPEN *
Some handlebar plugs work or you could tape a nickel or penny over the end.

12. Wrap the top 10 inches or so with hockey tape. Or, for more grip, unroll about 2 1/2 feet of tape and twist it into a tight “bead” and then spiral wrap down and back up.

Next give it a good flat wrap to cover the “bead” and some extra at the top to secure the plug and make the top comfortable in the palm.

Now it should look like a polo mallet.

Thanks to http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com and London Bike Polo

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