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A Day in 10 Photos: 04.08.2012

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A Day in 10 Photos: 04.08.2012

In some communities, a barn raising brings neighbors together and on the east side of Austin, it’s a mini ramp. Mike’s been going on and on about how he wants to build a mini in his backyard. Last week, he finally started it. Now, $600 into it and the mini is almost ridable. After my road ride yesterday, I went over to help him and Luke out. So far, so good!

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

HELLHOMMUS

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HELLHOMMUS

This black-metal son of Odin is half of the Great Escape, the tale of a Göteborg couple who are on a journey to cross the great American west in search of the most crushing music. HELLHOMMUS is from Göteborg but he’s not into that shitty technical death metal. He likes the real shit. That black shit. Darker than your bottom bracket shell and harder than 7075 aluminum. I spent a cloudy, rainy afternoon with HELLHOMMUS at the dead pool in Asgard, where we read the poetry of skalds and planned his conquest of the US.

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

Silver & Light

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Silver & Light

With all the photography posted here, this video should fit right in but that said, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Ian Ruhter creates large-format images with a pinhole camera-inspired van conversion. His wet plate photography uses nothing but inspiration, silver and light. It’s a long watch but damn, is it worth it:

“This project was created with the same spirit that america was founded on. Our intentions are to connect everyone in america through the lens of this camera and social networking sites. We can’t do this without you. We want to tell your story and show your city or town through photographs of you, and people you know. As we travel around america looking for people and places to shoot you will be able to keep track of where we are going and help us decide where we go next. Join us in our journey by liking our facebook to get yourself photographed by us.”

Follow Silver & Light on Twitter.

Thomas Porter’s Splendid Cycles

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Thomas Porter’s Splendid Cycles

I’m just going through some emails from the last few weeks and came across this gem. It’s a bit long but well worth the watch. Here’s a little background:

“Brooklyn resident William Thomas Porter builds wonderful – and really weird – bikes. “I wouldn’t call them mutants,” he says of his bike caricatures, “because that would make them sound ugly. It’s more like creating this… new splendid form.” We followed him around for a about a year documenting his projects and cajoling him into demonstrating the bikes’ awesomeness in a series of humorous, fast-paced vignettes.

Throughout the short Tom chats with good friend (and sometimes collaborator), Diego Guzman, about how and exactly why he does what he does.”

Swingbike freestyle is all the rage and the bounce bike sequences in McCarren Park are great!

PiNP Web Shop: NME Knife & Tool – BWB-01T Bottle Opener

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PiNP Web Shop: NME Knife & Tool – BWB-01T Bottle Opener

When I posted these before, people emailed me asking what I thought of them and if I would be selling them in the PiNP Web Shop. I’ve been going over the idea of stocking other companies’s products before and this was the perfect one to start it off. I know everyone and their mother re-brands the Paragon openers but these NME Knife & Tool – BWB-01T are different from the others. It’s lightweight, small enough to fit in your jersey pocket, machined in the USA from titanium and fits on a key ring. Here’s the run down:

5/32″ Thick 6Al/4V Titanium
Full Size Bottle Opener
1911 Bushing Wrench
1/4″ Female Hex for Bits
Standard Tip Screw Driver/Pry
Fits Many 1911 Grip Screws
Tumbled/Stone Washed Finish

Each order will come with a satchel and stickers. These will ship from Zodiak Engineering.

Pick one up at the PiNP web shop for $34 shipped in the domestic USA only!

Also, the Grey Beards have been re-upped and come with a Flag Hatchet… $5 shipped worldwide for (6) stickers.

Note: Yes, the last Grey Beard sticker orders went out yesterday!

Wind Maps and Touring

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Wind Maps and Touring

Tracko sent this over to me the other day. If there is one map that should be used when preparing for a cycling tour, it’s this. Wind can make or break your day. A headwind for a week straight is a good sign that you’re riding in the wrong direction. Check out the animated version here.

A Day in 10 Photos 04.01.2012

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A Day in 10 Photos 04.01.2012

People always ask me why I don’t do A Day in 10 Photos posts that often anymore. My answer is simple: with the new blog format and gallery, it’s a lot easier for me to dump 40+ photos into a set and call it a day. ADi10P was an easy way for me to link to 10 important photos and then post more on Flickr but now, I have been putting them all in big photosets. Case in point are the “Randomness” posts I’ve been making recently. But today’s activities merited a return to “the” 10. And to be honest, this was only a few hours out of my day.

It’s summer already in Austin and with all the rain we’ve been having, the rivers, swimming holes and beaches are flooded. Both with water and people. Today, I took Murph from PDW and Billy down to the Greenbelt for some people watching and straight relaxing. Check out nine more photos below.

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

SF Randomness

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SF Randomness

I love SF but man, my allergies have been killing me since I’ve been here. My day began at the Rapha Cycle Club to see how some familiar faces but since I didn’t have a bike, I had to borrow a cruiser from Mission Workshop. While everyone told me to do “the wiggle” to the Marina, I just went up and over the range. Climbing on a triple with a long-reach is a piece of cake, especially with promenade bars. Doing so provided with some great vistas of the Bay and the cityscape. From there, I headed over back to the Mission for the Levi’s Commuter Party where I met the legendary Erik Zo of Zo Bags and kicked it with some old friends. It’s been a blast SF. Thanks for everything! See you at RideNStyle. Happy Friday everyone.

Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.

Tony Fast: Disposable 11

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Tony Fast: Disposable 11

Photo by Tony Fast

Man, it’s been a while since I’ve heard or seen anything from Tony. He’s been undergoing a cross-country move from Philly to Santa Barbara over the past few months. Tom LaMarche rode with him in his car to keep him company on his drive across the US and the resulting photos are great. We’ve all done a move like that before and if you haven’t, these shots give you a sense of what it’s like to experience a new environment. Fresh eyes…

See the full set here.

Monkey Likes Shiny: SPD Camera Mount

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Monkey Likes Shiny: SPD Camera Mount

Leave it to Jeff Tiedeken from MLS to construct with something as unique and simple as this. An SPD camera mount? Pretty rad. I’d love to see it used for a few wide-angle shots on a road descent. The motion can be a bit jarring on a track bike but it’d work for a few select clips like skidding. I think you’re onto something Jeff!

Micro Arc Oxidation = Re-Appropriation?

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Micro Arc Oxidation = Re-Appropriation?

Bicycle application. Now?

I’ve seen this floating around and wondered why the aluminum frame builders don’t offer this treatment on their frames. Sure, it’s gotta come down to numbers but micro arc oxidation might be a great re-appropriation for track bikes. Maybe LOW could try this out?

“Three times stronger than stainless steel”

Thanks for sparking the post, Oscar.

SxSW Randomness 03

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SxSW Randomness 03

Today was awesome. We started off with a detox ride to some hills and immediately got sucked into the madness that is SxSW. I randomly bumped into Matty B, who was working at the Handsome roasters pop up shop. After some much-needed caffeine, I headed over to Yellow Jacket, where Elle Camino Vintage Clothes had her pop up shop going and from there, it just got kinda fuzzy. I do know that I saw Lamour Supreme at Secret Walls at some point but again, the rest of the night was a blur. Check it out for yourself here.

SxSW Randomness 02

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SxSW Randomness 02

We’re what? Not even a few days in SxSW here in Austin and I’m already over it. The saving grace is avoiding the crowds, hanging with friends, both new and old, and maybe hearing some music. A group of us saw High on Fire (who’s stoked for De Vermis Mysteriis?) last night and today, I caught a few songs from the Portland-based band, White Orange. Then, it all became a blur of open apertures and congested streets.

Check out more randomness in the Gallery by clicking the photo above.