Hot Time, Summer in the City.

I haven't written in a few months, but a lot has been going on. I'm going to quickly outline all of this for myself and anyone else who happens to be reading or care:

1. Adventures- I've made a point to go on a bunch of them when I can. I plan on going on more. These aren't all bicycle related, but I'm sure most of them will be.


2. Music- I've been learning the guitar, and therefore, built one to play electric when I'm good enough.

The guitar I built from a kit I ordered from Ebay. Naturally, I made a few modifications and upgrades. It sounds great! The weird box looking thing with the cable sticking out of it is actually a recording microphone I built out of some parts I had lying around. It's 2 sided- singing into one side sounds like a megaphone, and the other mostly like a regular mic. I think the next one I build is going to have a better filter and maybe a tone knob.

3. Artwork- I've been painting murals, and I've relaunched my website.

What you're looking at above is a great space in Fishtown that we were allowed to paint at/on. It was of course vandalized shortly after, but whatever. You can't do street art/public art without accepting that it's going to get destroyed someday. Usually sooner rather than later.

I've also moved into a new place with my girlfriend, and am in the midst of getting that all together. It has a lot more space for projects and a nice backyard too. I'll probably post more Mural pics later on, but for now you can go to my website to see more.

'Tis the Season.

It's been a while since I've written here. Not too much to report, unfortunately. Lots of projects that are stalled out or not seen through. I really hate that feeling. I would like to play music and make art and travel, but I feel like I'm waiting for something, which is silly. I did start a new collection of art today. Or at lease, nailed down some sketches. It's a small start, but it's the spark I need. I am looking forward to some creative flow and offering something to the world again, even if it is just asthaetic.


In other less bummer news, I built a new touring bike, which is pretty rad. I'll have pictures of that up shortly (months and months from now).

Saturday Night, Saturday Night!

It seems I am an awful friend. Had to work today, and missed out on some close friends' engagement party, so I'm the only loser home alone on a Saturday night while all of the friends are out living it up! Am I defeated by this cruel certainty? YES! I mean NO. I went for a bike ride, on a new whip that I built for "The Lady-Friend". It's a beautiful evening, so I stopped at the Penn Treaty Park and sat on a bench, looking creepy. I didn't TRY to look creepy, but I find that I have little control over this aspect of my life, as I have no control over the two female picnic'ers setting up shop not too far away and casting annoyed glances in my general direction. I did manage to capture a couple of nice pictures though (not of the lady picnicers)..

After all of that, I came home and watched a documentary series by PBS called art:21. One of the artists was a photographer who took pictures of dog bones and her naked children. But Barry McGee was in it too, so that made up for it. Now when creepy pedophiles google the term "naked children" my blog will come up...awesome. Also, this blog counts as something I did tonight. I am full of productive. You may notice that this entry has a different feel, or style to it than my others... This is because I am overworked, under(over?)caffeinated, and in a generally odd mood. I should really focus, but no one's reading this anyway, right? Fuckers. Anyway, I'll post some stuff about my next project, when I decide exactly what that is, and get the time to do it. Peace, homeys. Peace.

I've gotta get out of this place

I think I need a little vacation from Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love is not treating me so hot. Maybe it's how crowded it is, or almost getting hit by drivers too distracted by there cell phones. Maybe its the lack of brotherly love that's getting me down. Maybe it's cops telling me my bike doesnt belong in the street. Maybe it's that they cut funding to the libraries and Fairmount Park. Maybe I've just been here a little too long. Anyway, I think I need a few days of Somewhereelseville. Any suggestions?

Into the Woods, Part II

I went on a little MTB adventure in Core Creek Park a few months ago, and never quite had the chance to post about it. I took a few decent photos, as you can see;
























Core Creek Park has a great, if small, trail system that is fairly well maintained throughout the year. it's about 5 miles worth of assorted single track, uphill, stream-crossing and dirt jumping opportunities, if you're so inclined. My full suspension multi-geared friends find it a fun ride, but you can enjoy it with a rigid single speed bike just as easily. I've spent a lot of time on these trails, and they never get boring!

Into the Woods...

Last weekend (April 10th), Renee, myself, and Renee's former roommate Ned, packed our gear (actually, I was the only one to bring anything other than booze), hopped on the PatCo, and rode our bicycles into the woods somewhere in New Jersey. Fourteen or so miles away from Lindenwald, under the cover of a quiet, starry sky. It had it's share of thrills, being as it was darker than dark, and I was the only one with an adequate light. Cars seemed to give us plenty of room though. It was a beautiful, if slightly chilly night. Not the kind of night where you split the time between taking off layers and freezing your ass off. More like when you are moving, and it's just cool enough to keep you from sweating. In other words, nice. So, with the stars overhead, we venture into the woods, headed toward a bonfire and friends to keep us warm. Food and drink is had, along with stories, and entertainment via staring into a fire pit for hours.

On the ride back the next morning, it was steady cruising. We stopped at a Heritage Farms to get a bite to eat and refill our water bottles. I was starving, so I ate too fast, then puked, much to the chagrin of the people watching me puke. Good times. We made it back to the train with 4 minutes to spare, and was carried promptly home to Philadelphia. Then we ate a bunch of crab legs. Awesome.

CBG, in the key of G

Finished the second cigar box guitar. I put a lot more work into the neck this time too. I'm a little more comfortable with the woodworking aspect of things now, and hope to only get better from here. I still haven't built one for myself yet, though that's next. Then I can start filling orders, which Remer was nice enough to get while being my own personal sales team.
Still working out the bugs with the headstock design, but this is certainly close. You don't think of the fact that a typical stringed-instrument's headstock is offset, and not necessarily made of one piece of wood. This design is simple, strong, and made of one piece of wood. This particular CBG was built for a coworker who gave me some parts. He's one of the "Beta testers", and will hopefully provide some constructive feedback.

Another improvement over the first one, is this one has a pickup. You can make a pickup out of just about anything as it turns out. I made this one out of a set of headphones, but you could use the piezo-electric buzzer from a smoke detector, or even a magnet and copper wire.