And Now We Are Five

A Brief History of Time

back in the time machine for a vintage poster from the pre-Kittenmaster days and via an email exchange between D*Pow, Olson, Lord Hayden and the Kittenmaster- a history of 24MOTAB from its start it's resurrection:

kittenmaster
okay so how many 24MOTABs were there before the current inception and what year did they start and end? just being mr. historian. that and I'd consider both that version and the current version the grandfathers of DIY madison bike foolishness/let's do something to entertain ourselves events.

D*Pow
In regards to the history of MOTAB, I'd say there were probably more than 7 but less than a dozen of the original format...I know that Dusty Herbig won the first 3, and the Row wrestled the mantle away from BBC for at least 3 (Stagger Lee and Olson won at least one each) But then Small Paul showed up in a skin suit to take the win for BBC...I can recall some team tactics and a peloton, back when folks would actually race for 24 minutes. There was the time Lommen broke his arm, and we used to post-ride drink at the ohio before we started to pre-ride drink at Mickeys. I can think of 2 or three other posters that I made, and at least 1 that Lazar made.
I'm pretty sure we discovered the building on a booze cruise around Lake Monona in the Summer of 2002. I think that they probably went on until sometime in 2004 when I moved on, at about that time, the Trek store guys seemed to have picked up on it, and Vee used to send me pics, and linked me to some creepyfriendly site I'd never heard of. I know Jesse made a whole bunch of flyers as well.
The first couple of races were a strictly BBS, maybe even strictly 1202 thing...then the Wacko Jacko and the Used Boys started coming, and brought those Row Dudes along. We used to grill and launch bottle rockets pretty much every time as well. And at the first race there was no gate and we started racing in the front of the building.

Olson
... And when there was a gate it got a board up on it for Gower to launch his ass off.

Lord Hayden
first one I was at was after Mifflin street party in 2003..so May 2003. the night before I got slammered up and somehow lost my bike between Gower's and my apartment, so I rode my roommate's bike. it was pouring rain and we scavenged a construction tarp, burned a pallet in a grill and cooked some food. I think there were about 4 or 5 after that, the Loman arm-break might have been near the end. I know he rode his broken-arm having self over to the Ohio for some old time medicine before going to the doctor's the next day.

D*Pow
I recall trying to "set" his broken arm for him, and Lee getting a bag of ice from the Ohio bartender when it was apparent that our set may kill lommen. I also recall feeling really bad when he showed up late to work the next day with his arm in a sling...I'm pretty sure Gower was jumping that ramp on a bike with Biopace chainrings

kittenmaster
I know I saw the flyers at Budget during my six month stint there in 03-04 (I started at Budget in late August/Sept of 03 so it might have been going on still at that point), but I remember bringing it up to Jesse at the TBS west when I'd been there for a couple months and we resurrected it on Easter Sunday of '04 (no pun intended). Then I think we might have done two others (one where I broke my foot stepping sideways on a brick from Brick Mountain after taking a leak- I still did the race) before making it a monthly event in October. So really there hasn't been that much of a gap between the two incarnations which is kinda cool.

D*Pow
those are all pretty good old views of days gone by, pretty sure the streamers one was the last flyer I made, but I think at some point I passed on quite a few of the first few flyers...back when it happened whenever we had the notion, gumption or the need for weed...

kittenmaster
the flyers are great! we'll pour one out for all of you and maybe for Lazer too.

This many years old this Sunday

PRO Dopes

Phil and Vee hold down the podium for the '07 DopeTAB

more from the past

Fuel

oh yes, three 24MOTAB mainstays check the reserves.

Trophy!!!

It's also been almost 5 years of trophy making for the KittenMaster. In which he has courted blood loss, tetanus shots and last minute inspiration but has always come up with something worthy of a 24MOTAB winner.
some trophies have drinking problems, but don't worry, they're "happy drunk" trophies.

NILS!!!! was here

Pile To The Sky

One of the many engineering feats performed regularly at 24MOTAB. The ritual bike pile.
As we always say- never ride anything you love. But then you always hurt the ones you love.

Darkness Brings The Dark

Marko visits the bone pile on this Halloween MOTAB from '05

Wet Kitten

a rare shot of the Kittenmaster in his natural habitat

BROWN DERBY!

many 24MOTABs have become brown derbies due to rain and snow but for this one future Brown Derby member Andrew Harrison was in attendance.

red white and booze

July 3rd 2005