Rainy Shop Shot

I was in the parking garage across the street from work the other day, and snapped a quick pic of the store. I hadn't taken any pics of the window coverings that I installed for Topher, our Spy rep, so I decided that there was no time like the present, and I had just gotten "safe" so why not? So here's the shop in all it's glory on a rainy day in PDX.

Saturday Pic of the Day: Graf

Spotted this stencil during the summer of '07 underneath the I-405 freeway near Pettygrove or Raleigh St. Touched it up a little bit in Photoshop Express, added contrast and sharpened the glasses details. Hope you like.

Photoshop Express

I'm a total noob when it comes to editing images on my computer. Give me some scissors and some glue stick and canvas and I can do some serious photo editing. With a vengance. But now, the people at Photoshop have released a free on-line version of their software, and it's pretty user friendly to navigate and set-up. Here's my first image that I created in about 2 minutes. It's two geese from a couple of weekends ago when Bree and I went down to the river at Willamette Park to drink some whiskey and soak up the sun. The male in front was definately randy, and I think he was leading his lady goose to a secret spot on the sand for some early spring nookie.... Sounds like a good idea!

Pista pic

Here's the latest incarnation of the Pista. Took the Brooks off of the Obey Fuji to get it broken in a little. It's still a little stiff, but starting to break in nicely. I'm still waiting for that euphoric epiphany that everybody tells me I'm going to have when that Brooks finally gets comfy. In the background is the famed Oakley case in all it's glory. 32 pairs of shades and counting. And 10 pairs of goggles, but that doesn't really matter, cause my orthopedist still hasn't given me the okay to go skiing or snowboarding due to the screws still in my collar bone. Yum. Anyway, I threw some new bar tape on the pista for the warm sunny springtime that I'm sure is just around the corner. If it wasn't snowing this morning in PDX, I definately would have riden to work. But I just wasn't all that jazzed about riding in the snow today.

Baron Davis - One Shot

I'm a couple weeks late on this, but here we go anyway. Funny stuff, I wish I could rock quads that well. Check the crossover dribble...

Spring is here.

So it's March here in the good ole Pacific Northwest, the 28th of March to be exact. And it's snowing in downtown Portland. Great. A little out of the ordinary for spring time in PDX. But a welcome change from the normal dreary spring time rain. A little snowfall will always do me just fine.

Deschutes Brewing coming to PDX

Yep, that's right folks. Our beer rich city is just about to get beer-richier. The folks from Bend at Deschutes Brewing are building a new facility right here in good ole Stumptown. The location is going to be in a new building at 13 & Lovejoy. Do you think Bridgeport is worried? They will be right next door. Just myself, i would much rather enjoy a Mirror Pond rather than a India Pale anyday. But that's just me. I think it's in the Bend water. That's what makes Deschutes brew that much better than anything else. Maybe I'm just Oregon biased. What do you expect, growing up in PDX, where we have more craft or micro brew companies per capita than the rest of the US of A. With so many great beers to choose from, it is often very difficult, especially when you are standing in front of the beer case at your local grocery store and your g/f has had a long day, her feet hurt and she just wants to go home, but you can't decide which delicous brew to choose... Oh well, her feet won't fall off, just take another minute and choose wisely. Odds are, at least in PDX, that beer is gonna be good. Anyway, I can't wait until the Deschutes spot opens, I definately will spend some lunches there this summer. Bring it on Bend. I will be there, ready for your challenge...

Gorgeous PDX

An awesome ride to work this morning.. The first day back on the bike, since the broken collarbone. Well on the streets at least, been stuck on the trainer for 2 months. Had to post a pic to commerate the event....

Obey Headset Issues

I solved my headset issues this afternoon. Finally got it on the streets, first ride of the new year for me, due to the lack of collar bone adhesion. But the Dr. gave me the okay to get back on the bike, well, that's not entirely true, on a bike yes, fixed not really. Apparently I had overtigtened the cheap headset just a little to much, and forgot to lube the upper threads. I just hadn't had the time to tear apart the front end. Much more smooth now. Let's just say, I'm glad to be back, even if I can ski or snowboard yet. Hopefully I will get back on snow in another month. It's been a little disheartening this season, had 2 buddies blow knees, had another break his face on a rock and crushed his eye socket. But everybody is recovering speedily, and that's all we can ask for.

Heal up homies.... I will be charging after you soon enough.

Slack Track Chains

If I built a several thousand dollar ride from scratch all by myself to display at NAHBS.... (hmmm, let me ponder the massive implications of this thought...)

1. It would have chromed lugs
2. Polished rear dropouts to prevent rust from paint removal
3. It certainly would have a properly tensioned chain

I'm sorry, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves of the handmade bike industry trade shows. It really doesn't show any foresight. Really, how long would it take to remove that one link to tighten up that chain. Or God forbid, pull the wheel back a half inch or so, sacrifice that uber tight rear wheel clearance, for a little bit of proper chain tension. It really didn't occur this year as much as I saw in '07. So for that I'm glad. There's nothing that will ruin your day on a brakeless fixed, other than throwing a slack chain. It just pains me to see a multi thousand dollar track bike with a slack chain...

Okay, Rant over.

Bikes.

I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures on my blog. I'm still new at this so be patient with me. I'm a data-base administrator by trade, but other than my work OS, i'm a programming idiot. So here goes. The Boozer Cruiser.

Now the Pista. Not the most recent incarnation of thine beater/commuter, but a semi-recent one.

Fuji x Obey Track

I just got my 58cm Fuji x Obey track ride. Built it in a record 45 minutes. One complaint though, if you are going to sell a bike with deep profile rims, make sure the tubes you install at the time of manufacture are long enough to inflate with a pump. Mine were a little short, 8 bucks later, we were rolling. Thanks Fuji for two tubes that will never be ridden. No big deal, just a little disappointing. They probably would have worked, but i wasn't in the mood to try. It rides smooth, but i think the crown race isn't seated well, my headset is acting a little funny. It is super smooth (for a generic cheap-ass headset) from straight ahead to 45 degrees, but from 45 to 90 degrees, it tightens up significantly. Overall, i'm super stoked, except i'm only about 500 or so miles from breaking in the Brooks Swift, i am more than sure it will be well worth it. Unfortunately, due to the broken collar bone, i can't ride it on the streets, it will be rollers only until track season starts. Can't wait to hit Alpenrose on it. The Pista still gets the day to day beatings and miles, but after two nasty crashes, it certainly needs a little love, like a new fork, headset, and saddle. For now, the Obey is still stock black and gold, but it will soon get a few upgrades to discern mine from the other kooks out there. I haven't seen one yet in PDX, so i might be the first one here to own one, but i'm not counting on it. Im sure some other fixster will surely pick one up, and then i will have to break him, mercilessly.

Collar Bone Stitches

Tomorrow my stitches come out of the collar bone wound. Busted Dec. 17th, sugery on January 8th. No bike unitl April.... Pics to follow.