kaszube's park

(The question tonight was: "Who'll blog their pictures first?" Dudes, I win! I WIN!)

Anyway, Alyssa organized an impromptu six pack tour tonight. The idea of six pack tours is this:
1. Get some beer (like, er, a six pack?)
2. Get your bike.
3. Ride.
4. Stop to drink beer at various hidden spots around the city.
5. Hope the cops don't bust you.

We almost thought we were going to get busted at Kaszube's Park, dark in the bowels of Jone's Island. It's a tiny triangle of park, the smallest park in the county. A security guard pulled up in an unmarked SUV and got out.

Those with beer cans hid beer cans.

The guard pointed to the scars on his arms and told us we need to be careful back there. He's seen his share of shit, up and around the mounds of street salt. He's had to shoo off Latin Kings and say nice things to Outlaws to get them to leave. He's seen men doing stuff to other men that the bible would take issue with.

We told him we'd go. He said come back sometime, to talk some more. He'd find us, tell us more stories. Tons of stories. More than he knows what to do with. None of them starting or ending happy, you'd imagine.

Then he escorted us out, making three separate stops to wait for us to catch up. Waved at us at each point.

old with the stolen, in with the touring bike

Had my longtime friend, an IRO Mark V, stolen from me this weekend.

Now that it's gone, I've pulled my old $5 thrift store Miyata Six Ten out of the garage and slapped some new tires and chrome polish on so it looks halfway handsome. Still want to do some things to it to class it up a bit more, but that'll come with time.

This, friends, is my new steed.

three more for the weekend

Boston.com & Old Chum & Over the Bars in Milwaukee. Respectfully respectively.

Cycling photos of the week (so far)

Home is where the pedals are.

Top one from Tiny House Design
Bottom one from Unpopular

from
The Family Creative Workshop
1974

warbikes

from
Life World Library - Switzerland
1964/9

Favorite cycling photos of the week

That middle one? By Allan Peters, up in Minneapolis. The others are so old, when they fart, dust comes out.

I've been looking at a lot of vintage cycling photos lately, and I'm becoming convinced that the true way to show your style on a bike is to rock the shorts and turtleneck combo look. So, I'm in the market. Turtlenecks, come find me.

Creek to Creek

I think that the look on Tony's face says it all. Today was pretty great.

Earlier this week, I realized I didn't have much going on this weekend (the 4th), so I contacted a bunch of people to ask if anyone'd be down for a ride from Creek to Creek—Stone Creek to Silver Creek.

Even though I only really expected 3 or so others to join, I was shocked when 10 others rolled up to the coffee shop this morning.

It's a ride I've done once a year for the last two. Rides that have beer as a middle point always bring out the champ in people.

People came from all different sectors of the city, so exact mileage is pretty hard to come up with. For my part though, it was just about 58.5 miles. When I got back to my neighborhood, I dropped my gear off at home and forced myself to squeeze out another 1.5, just to make it a cool 60. Glad I did.

Can't wait for next time.

(Look at all the photos)

I LIKE BIKES

The two best cycling images I saw this week.

• Top one is by Script & Seal, via the Grain Edit blog.
• Bottom is from The Nationaal Archief, via the Flickr blog.

Do you have a favorite bikeish blog? Do tell.

Radio: A Life on Two Wheels

The Bike Show is always one of the most consistently great podcasts out there, but a few weeks ago, they swerved from their normal format of Jack Thurson presenting on this and that. Instead, production duties were handed over to Stewart Watt, who put together a very tender, ear-warming tribute to how cycling can very much influence who a person becomes.

Listen to A Life on Two Wheels >>.

nothing (quite like) bikes

I'm having a daughter in September. Will you build one of these bikes for her? Please?

ian hibell

Heard an interview on The Bike Show about the recently deceased Ian Hibell. His was the kind of life that makes you resent every second you spend slaughtering the hours of your life in a cubicle.

Maybe I should take bike podcasts off my daily listening docket. Or maybe just The Bike Show. That show's interview with Alastair Humphreys also had me spinning my legs in useless revolutions under my desk.