Spot the rattlesnake in this picture

As i'm out taking care of our chickens, I nearly stepped on this little fellow. Barely a foot long. Note the chicken feather for scale. Maybe one or two little bumps on his rattle. I pushed him out of the way with a stick, and though his tail made a tiny little housefly-at-the-window sort of buzz, he didn't strike at the stick until I'd given him a few good shoves. Far enough away from the house that I wasn't too concerned.

Here he's heading away through the grass and pine needles:

The camera shutter noise gets his attention, and he turns around:

And he settles into the classic position, fixing me with a steady gaze and buzzing his tail. No, I didn't get in any closer. At this point I put down the camera, high centered him on the stick and carried him down to the edge of the property.

Big Wheel Bike

So this guy walks into the bike shop a few weeks ago riding this on a world tour.

An L.E.D. lamp hanging off the axle in a traditional housing.

He picked up the proper English headgear, with an Australian emblem if I remember correctly.

The view from the saddle (custom bar ends!); and a view of a handlebar repair.

Regular clincher tires cut from the bead and glued onto solid rubber cores.

His name is Jonathan Summerfield, or Joff, and he's as interesting as you'd expect. His website is of course Penny Farthing World Tour. His itinerary to date reads as such here. Joff was on this leg when he passed through Salida, and the next section to Kansas is recorded here. He's somewhere near Virginia/Maryland at this point, if not further. His pictures are excellent, the ride must be amazing. His Penny Farthing (the difference in wheel size is likened to the difference in a penny and farthing coin) is fixed: if the wheels turn, the cranks turn. An upright position, a certain learning curve, but there's no doubt he knows what he's doing, on a bike he built himself. He told me about crossing Himalayan passes, chatting with the airlines (for oceanic flights) about stowing his bike away, and all in all, clearly having a very good time.

Bikes with Critical Mass

Finally found a nice used metal filing cabinet in good shape. I picked it up before work at the local thrift store. As I'm getting ready to leave and ride home, there's a band setting up their equipment at the cafe next door. One of the musicians takes one look and tells me I'd have an easier time moving my files if I transferred them to an iPod.

Rode home with a slight lean. Next time I'll experiment with having the load centered, but higher up, and see what's easier to manage.

A properly balanced load of recycling.

Amber's 1930's Elgin bicycle. All original (except for tires, grips?, saddle, seatpost, pedals, baby seat). A slightly bent fork. And a beautiful rear coaster brake, with mechanically perfect internals, utilizing a roller-clutch style engagement system that is still about as effective as a bunch of wet leaves jammed in the fender. But finned hubs for efficient cooling. With grease ports. Skirt guards. Skip-tooth chain - note the alternating links. Now on long-term loan to a local store in town, as a classy window display. An amazing looking bike, with a riding position that makes one's knees ache.

Front Elgin hub, with fins and grease port.

Skirt guard, the opening in the chainguard is for access to the bolt that sets the chain tension, and the lower frame tab below the axle is a stop for the original centerstand, long since disappeared.

Why Is This Man Smiling?

What? I always smile like that. Wrapping up a full day of working at the shop and racing at the 2008 Annual Cruiser Criterium in downtown Salida. Which raises money for the music at the Fibark Festival later this summer. So with the Big Dummy bike rack in place, I hauled the sweet race machine with me to work. (1961 Columbia Firebolt, with some modifications). Didn't win, but gave the crowds some high-pitched squealing skidding tire action.



I've had this book for a while now. Note the line written at the top. Did this lead towards buying a '41 Chevy? Well, I've had a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and I did eventually obtain a free 1980 Suzuki GS450. But I never put in a battery, or cleaned the carburetors, and it stayed East when I moved West. Just a matter of how things work out. Here's a quote from the book:

"Service manuals are hymnals of conservative thought. They are based on metal touching metal, what will go and what, absolutely, will not. They are not even pragmatic: there is never a hint of the "try this, then try this, and if that fails, try this" that is the operative method of the real-world attempts to make machines survive. They are composed out of fear of failure and grudging acceptance of the inevitability of wear. Compensation for flaws, reaction to the destructive effect of actual use. Despair over the necessity, in an imperfect world, of having to recommend - ghastly concept - tolerances. Admissions of imperfection. The service manual posits the perfect machine, and tells how, when some dolt like myself has profaned that perfection through actual use, to restore it to perfection. Start with perfection, and then follow instructions. Precisely."

Breaking News...

Amber's article for Dirt Rag just got published. Awesome. Swing on down to your local Independent Bicycle Dealer of distinguished repute and pick up the latest issue.
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