Here I am back as a youth with my first big bike. A chopper with high bars, long seat and five speeds. I found an old advert of a Chessington which bears a close resemblance to my wheels. There was a big Kawasaki K sticker on the down tube.
December 11, 2023
Celeste Cycle
Simple Street Tool
This Bianchi single speed was locked to a bike rack in the City near a pizza joint we went to. The brown leather Brookes saddle adds a serious note to the bike. Repurposed lugged steel frame. What’s not to like?
February 8, 2023
The Boy who wanted to Fly
Street artist from the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago had a show on at the Elmhurst Art Museum. His street graffiti style depicts a youth with bird mask, a person who is able to find or escape to their freedom by placing them in a different reality. Here’s a canvas of him cruising on a low rider.
April 24, 2022
Sturmey Archer 3-Speed?
– Made in Nottingham these were on every boys list in the Seventies. They were ridden as if they had an engine like this smart example.
November 10, 2020
Winter’s Coming
– it’s nearly the time of year to get the warm clothing out. Tonight the temperatures drop from a record high of the mid seventies to the low thirties. Wrap-up folks! Photo taken in DuKalb IL.
July 16, 2020
We’re gonna need a bigger bike…
– Actor Robert Shaw taking a spin around the fishing village of Meneshma on Martha’s Vineyard which stood in for the salty fictional island location. He’s probably got a couple of bottles of scotch in the handlebar basket for an evening booze session with the locals.
June 14, 2020
Two Wheels Good
I finally said farewell to my old road bike today. It had been gathering dust in the basement and I reckon someone else should get some use out of it. All built up from parts off EBay, scavenged in bins at cycle shops, and sales of components. The unnamed steel frame was given an orange powedercoat coloring to enliven the look and a smorgasbord of older Shimano components gave life to pedal powered conveyance.
February 5, 2020
Lust for Life
He’s Spartacus! One of the legends from the golden age of movies, Kirk Douglas, died today at the grand age of 103. His memorable roles were always played with gusto and energy. My favorite film of his growing up was The Vikings.
December 31, 2019
Racing Bike
The Future Was Here | The imaginative illustrations of Syd Mead spoke of a streamlined and slick world of cool architecture and knife-sharp cars. This Honda 3000 has hints of Kaneda’s bike from ’89 Manga animation Akira. Mead developed the feel of dystopian Blade Runner and the computer integration of Tron. Syd passed away yesterday at the age of 86.
October 29, 2019
“Curiosity is the Lust of the Mind” Thomas Hobbes
Bicycle Balance | We can all remember the moment equilibrium was achieved on two wheels. Calvin on the other hand…
“You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy.” John Calvin
August 27, 2019
Skyscraper Scenery
The City on the Lake | a selection of the fantastic images captured by my pillion Ali as we sped around the triathlon course. The skyline is a marvelous backdrop to such an event.
November 21, 2018
Clowning around
Big Top Boy – here’s one from the memory banks. My early adventures in unicycling. I was keen on juggling and added this skill to my circus repertoire. In later years I added fire breathing to it too. It came in handy in making my early curriculum vitae noteworthy…
October 28, 2018
All I wanna do is…
I want to ride my bicycle- So goes the Queen song from their ’78 LP Jazz. Well, about that time riding your bike was the best thing to do! I had a couple of Raleigh’s, a chopper, a racer and friends who had BMX’s and other kinds of two-wheeled fun. Top Left is the king of kid cool: The Chopper, long seat, ape bars, three speed gear changing with central stick. Wobbly to ride by who cares! Top Center: The Grifter, heavy off road looking monster, precursor to the Bicycle Moto X of a later date. It’s rear hub made a distinctive clickety sound. Top Right: The Bomber, another weighty dreadnaught of a bike. It’s lines were driven from the US stumpjumpers being ridden in the Rockies and copied by youth sticking cow horn handlebars on their roadsters. Lower Left: The Arena, a road bike for speed, with true derailleur gearing, narrow seat and drop bars. Lower Center: BMX Burner, a true BMX offering for dirt tracks where knee and elbow padded racers could swoop berms, hit whoop-de-woos, and soar across tabletops. Lower Right The Maverick: an early iteration of the Mountain Bike craze that we’re still in to this day. It’s knobbly tires were good for muddy roads, cantilever brakes to stop on a dime, 15 gears for any adventure laden trail.
Two Wheels Good!
August 16, 2017
Son of the Desert
TE Lawrence – born on this day in 1888.
“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”
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