August 8, 2020  |  North & South

Another ride on the docket: Taking the greenway south to New Haven, either to stay overnight or return by train.

Above are some shots of the greenway bridge at Route 6 in Farmington, back in 2017. Today:

Definitely inviting trips further south.

Meanwhile up North, big wheels are about.

And a stop by Lake Congamond, which looks naturally occurring on maps, but in person seems fabricated for watersports.

And we conclude with a random suit of armor in a backyard adjacent the greenway:

Even if your protection is a mere facemask, stay safe!

July 20, 2020

JBWeld (primered over). That’s better.

July 4, 2020  |  Happy 4th

No Fourth of July ride this year, but according to my photo history I was in the workshop with the soon-to-be-unveiled HB-04.

I’m a chainstay guard?

This metal object began life as a D-ring for 3/4″ webbing, made somewhat circular with the help of deathgrip pliers. Flatten it on top, and it would look like a Miyata 1000. Sort of.

  • Looking up
  • Hope for the future
  • Ends in tears

Awww, that didn’t work as well as you hoped. Time to get some welding equipment better epoxy.

June 29, 2020  |  Show & Tell 2: Amateur Woodworking Hour

Instead of buying a tool and coming up with all kinds of uses for it, this time I bought a bunch of lumber without having any woodworking tools.

I quickly learned that making a single cut in a 2×3 without a proper wood saw is actually pretty grueling. I did manage to put the basic frame together with a hacksaw, dremel, and electric screwdriver, but it wasn’t very pleasant.

I’m a rolling workbench!

After watching some youtube videos and realizing everything I was lacking, I bought a proper saw coarser hacksaw blade which I installed backwards, giving me a 12-inch 18-teeth-per-inch pull saw. This actually works pretty well, though the hacksaw’s frame keeps it from getting through large boards. But I was able to cut quarter inch plywood by scoring it with a razor and snapping like acrylic (not recommended).

Et voila, storage cubbies.

But things started getting out of hand when I unearthed my old Core Duo. Suddenly there was a keyboard drawer, swinging arm, and backboard threatening to organize my tools (I resisted).

One good thing about woodworking is that if you have the tools, barring a cataclysm there will always be lumber. The supply of truly “vintage” bikes will only continue to dwindle.

June 19, 2020  |  Show & Tell 1: Photobomb Safety Triangles

Always on the hunt for something to turn the sewing awl on, I diced a safety vest and tried replicating my Aardvark safety triangle.

Nasty. This is why I don’t usually document my “first tries” (HB-01?), but the progression is interesting:

The later examples use reflective trim that radiates under flash photography and hopefully car headlights.

On Senator Buff, it also obscures the rear reflector, genius!