Entry Fee for the Tournament (or) Built to take a hit

I heard  a short piece on the radio from the guys that wrote the book Freakonomics (interesting takes on the sorts of causes at the root of effects in society and commerce) that is one of those little things that sticks in my head that I keep coming back to.  The hypothesis was that the nature of the business of being a beauty queen was at its core very similar to entering the... Read More

The Bright Spots in a Crappie World (or) The Parrots of Eastie

Life has a way of challenging your resolve to make the best of things that you can sometimes.  Immersed in news of ugly things happening all around what seems to be a shrinking world and keeping one’s own head above water with increasing bills and shrinking paychecks it is easy to  miss the beauty to the simple things around you while your responsibilities for the day are... Read More

That Fast Look & the Performance Envelope (or) Vanity in the face of disaster

Designing and building a bicycle to suit a rider’s individual purpose for the machine has been the driving goal since I first picked up the torch 7 years ago.  The opportunity that attending UBI gave me to have access to the quality tools, materials, and instruction  to bring to life an idea I’d had for the last bicycle I’d ever need while I doodled in the margins of my... Read More

Weeks End, Weeks Begin (or) Sysaphian Cycle

Friday oi cat enjoys experimenting with gravity & warming her loins on key boards.  It is the latter activity that resulted in having to write Fridays intended blog post by hand. The general jist of this. Is this. “My bike needs a bath so badly that I think I might have to put on the NEOS (water proof overshoes) and get the business done at the car wash tomorrow. The... Read More

Irons in the fire (or) Precision is a c@#$

Progress is not cake.  Read More

“High Five to Back Slide” (or) POLO bike market study, Join the Discussion

I play bike polo every once in a while on whatever  bike I happen to be riding at the time which is almost always one that is inappropriate to treat so destructively.  I am on the hook to get a polo specific frame made as the tournament MVP prize for this January’s Winter Lockdown indoor tournament and am looking for ideas to make this into more than another one off custom... Read More

This is not my job, Northampton CycloCross

I’ve started in a lot of Cyclo Cross races over the years,  usually the minutes before the gun goes off involve some of the most gut wrenching nervousness and anticipation that I’ve ever paid for. This weekend in Northampton I decided to let the season be what it is, I haven’t been riding much and racing less and my usual fitness and drive to be competitive aren’t... Read More

Anthrapomorphising Metal (or) The Declining Likelihood of Procreation

I at long last put the last welds on a frame I was commissioned to build, a track bike for a local rider among the many pining for a closer velodrome to the Boston Metro Region.   Here it is photographed in front of my fantastic BBW Banner. Finished welding and did the parts fit test, all passed and ready for paint Soon enough it’ll be painted up with my branding emblazoned... Read More

Sick mind reading Spaniards Song and Video

15247292  Read More

BBW #28 & #29 Build Progression, Sexy Top Tube Friday

Follow The Build on FFFFFFFFFFFLickR October 22nd, 2010 BBW #28 is to be a very small road frame that as I’ve mentioned I’ve explicit instructions to make “sexy”.  Thinking about some of my experimentation with tube shaping and wrapping I thought I’d try something a little different with my sectional monostay rear end by utilizing the excess... Read More