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.

lomo, fo' sho!

So, I got this new lomography photo app for my iPhone, which is pretty neato. This entry is an excuse to show off some pics.














I also transported a bicycle via the Ute, which worked out nicely.
With the bags on, I almost didn't need extra straps. The photo above only shows the side with the frame, etc.. The other side is holding the wheels.


Also, I checked out El Camino with Julie and Hazel. Really good food! Since all of us here on the East coast are pretty much snowed in, My new roommates and myself have put forth to getting the house cleaned up. I'm also going to start working on some cigar box guitars.

Frenchie Rides Again...

Started working on the Mercier this weekend. It's a pretty interesting bicycle. Not particularly special, but still a cool piece of history to ride around. It's actually a rebadged Louison Bobet, or, I should say, I bicycle made by a company using his name. If you don't know who he is, He won the TdF 3 years in a row; 1953-55, and was known for being a bit "Hollywood", as compared to other French riders of the time. This was a time when the French were a major force in the cycling world.

It needs some work, and the paint is pretty bad. I got it as a carcass that came with a Spartan derailleur, Simplex dt shifters (plastic), Mafac Racer (!!!) brakes, and Nervar cottered cranks. also, it has a braze-on dt shifter boss, but only on the right side, and the left shifter mounted with a metal collar that was made to accomodate it. Weird. I'll have more pictures when it's done. I'm building it up as a fixed/free singlespeed.
The plan is to make a fixed gear randonneur. This was originally going to be a portuer, but I changed my mind. The head tube geometry is a bit stout, and it should handle pretty fast. It weighs a ton, mostly because of the cranks, but I never care about weight anyway. I still need a seat and some tires. Maybe a cool seat bag from Velo-Orange.

I'm setting up 40-16, and keeping the Nervar cranks on it. It has Nervex dropouts, that look nice chrome plated. I'm not sure what pedal threading the cranks are, but I do have a set of Lyotard pedals if it's french. Updates to follow.

Winter, Xmas, and whether to say two thousand and ten, or twenty-ten.

Well, another New Years Eve has come and gone. Welcome to The Future: 2010. I went to the Lowe household for NYE, and was graciously hosted by the entire Lowe family. I had no idea they lived across from a church I used to play shows at all the time!

Friday, or NYD, I met up with some friends for First Friday. They were the only ones on the street selling art. I rode the Ute there, and was asked to remove it from the front of a shady bookstore because it was a "liability". Okay?

It's been WAY to cold to do any serious riding (at least for the likes of me, I'm sure someone's out there doing it), and have mostly been a homebody. I started working on a 26" touring bike, and a city bike for a friend. I think I'm gonna build up something from my secret stash too; a 1968 Mercier. Porteur style, if I can decide what to do about paint.
















Maus says hi.