Friday, April 25, 2008

It's all about Me(me)

Wes tagged me with the "8 Random Things About Me" meme. I'll come up with 'em but I won't bother tagging anyone else, woe betide me.

1. I throw out chain letters.
2. I love cooking and don't use recipes, much.
3. When Nixon resigned I was working as a counselor at a camp for the mentally disabled in upstate New York.
4. I have shrunk at least a full inch over the last 30 years.
5. The longest distance I have bicycled in a single day is 120 miles.
6. It rained on that ride.
7. If I could, I'd probably sleep for 11 to 12 hours every night.
8. As an art student my favorite medium was intaglio.

That's it folks, the buck stops here.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

George Washington Bridge

Eastbound, 6 PM

A Barrel of Makers Mark Bourbon has my name on it



Along with 29 of my newest friends! Click for a full size view.

Friday, April 11, 2008

The trees are turning pink

Best if viewed large, click on the image and step back a little.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Moulton Stowaway



This circa 1965-1966 single gear Moulton Stowaway is full original. I have the front rack, it was off for storage. Even has the tool pouch in the saddle bag. I pumped up the old Dunlops and my daughter and I took turns riding it up and down the street.

Brooks Saddle Restoration

Veteran frame builder Dave Moulton recently wrote about switching to a classic Brooks saddle. This got me to thinking - I used to use one of those and quite honestly, since I switched I have yet to be all that happy with my bike saddles. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the trend was to go for a much narrower saddle with lighter materials. No question, the Brooks is a brick.

Sometine in the 80s a friend bought me a Selle San Marco Regal which was styled like the Brooks Pro but not built like it. I didn't want to switch, but I didn't want to offend my friend. Now I'm old enough to know better, and put comfort front and center.

I dug out my old saddle and it looked horrible! Something like mold seemed to be covering the surface and the beautiful copper rivets were oxidized something awful. I figured it was a lost cause. I decided to see just how bad off it was so I wiped it down with a disinfectant. Happily the powdery coating came right off and the surface of the saddle looked smooth and uncracked.

I decided to give it a proper cleaning with saddle soap - generally not advised but I figured it was an extreme case. I've been applying Neatsfoot oil liberally on the underside and sparingly on the top, using an artists brush for both control and reach underneath. The old saddle is drinking it up, and a bit of steel wool shows the rivets copper as if they were new. I have high hopes now that I'll have it ridable in a week or so. Here's how it's looking:


Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Credentials



This plus $7-10 USD gets me a cocktail.


My Barrel is aging

This just in. In 6-7 years it's tasting time.