Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Stable.
















It's really filling out.

New Bike Day: T1













































I took delivery of my first Trek yesterday.
I was walking out and Robert, another
designer stopped me as I walked by with
my Raleigh and asked me "When are you
going to start riding a Trek?" to which
I responded with how I ordered my T1
two weeks ago and had not heard about
it being delivered yet. He said it had
probably been delivered a few days ago
and they probably just didn't know who
I was yet because I was so new. Sure enough
right on top of a pile of bike boxes was a
60cm T1 with my name on it. We absconded
with it into a nearby shop and assembled
the bike, fitted it to my body and snugged
everything up. I got so excited I chose to
ride that home instead of the Raleigh.

Man, is the T1 fast. I suppose I am not
helping the Raleigh out by outfitting it
with boat anchors for wheels. The gear
ratio is a little short, nothing a new cog
would not fix, but aside from that, it is
an awesome addition to my collection.

Steal is Real but Aluminum and Carbon
are stupid light.

And on top of this, the Red Wings won.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

This Guy.
















The gentleman gazed into his antiquated technology with
a whimsical daze. He would pause periodically to orient
himself in the present.

Drifting momentarily to his Wall Street days when he was
filled with hubris to be seen with such a device.

Before he gave up and moved to the Midwest.

Lao Laan-Xang.













































Really awesome Laotian food.

I recommend the Squash Tofu Curry.

Shanghai Forever.























BBC had one of these Shanghai Forever
bikes that was about as ubiquitous as
people and dirty air out in Shanghai. The
guy would not fully commit to a story
about how this came into his possession,
but he did attempt to sell it to me for
$400.

The rod brakes made it tempting, but I
told him if he ever came across a China
Post bike with full racks and panniers,
he would have a buyer.

Blast from the past.

Budget Bicycle Center
































































































Went down to BBC to check out their selection and get on
some old bikes.

This place is up there on the "most zen filled garages on
earth" list.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Grocery Shopping.























I think it's cute that they have a Moleskine
holder in the carts.

How did they know I write down my list
in my Helvetica Moleskine?

Stella: Road Warrior.































Took Stella out to MKE for the IDSA conference. As expected,
she was nothing short of exceptional on our day trip to the
big city.

Nav got me right to where I was going.

We cruised with an 09 Gallardo Superleggera for about 30
miles on I94 as I talked to Mickey about the new things
going on in her life.

Salsa Roja Tortada.






























So, I caught a healthy dose of tBell advertising while watching
game 2 on Friday. This new product is apparently is supposed
to be "Taco Bell's answer to the Sandwich", which I had always
thought was the Burrito.

Turns out, its just a squared crunch wrap without the crunch
part.

B-

Side Story:
When I arrived, the Manager of the Taco Bell was outside having
his smoke break and he hollered at me as I was exiting my car,
"So you drove your STI all the way from Michigan to MY Taco
Bell", I laughed and then we talked for a good ten minutes about
Sun Prairie. His name was Ryan also. Then as I sat eating, a cute
girl pulled up in the drive through line and we smiled at each other
because we were both wearing wayfarers. As said cute girl pulled
ahead in her Saleen Edition SVT Focus, I noticed she too had plates
from Michigan! (The one with the sunset over the Mackinac Bridge).
As I sat thinking how weird it was to have so many weird Michigan
references in one Taco Bell sitting in Sun Prairie, Wisco I turned
to see a lady walking in with a vastly oversized Red Wings sweater.
At this point, I realized the Red Wings game was starting in 20
minute.

I quickly gathered my things and silently walked out the door and
tried to make sense of what just happened.

To Recap:
Guy notices I am from Michigan, named RYAN.
Cute Girl in Focus from Michigan, my Sunglasses.
Old lady with 5 kids, Reminds me the hockey game I want to watch
is steadfastly approaching.
Taco Bell food, sub par but too cheap to ignore.

Like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Harley-Davidson Museum.






































The IDSA Midwest Conference ended their Saturday
festivities at the Harley Davidson Museum in MKE.
The place was really interesting architecturally and
overly expensive when it came to anything else. They
had a Harley on what was essentially a very beefy
version of my bike trainer so that I could ride it and
get all of the sensations of riding with none of the risks
of me eating it or stealing the bike.

Also, as an aside. When I went to design school, in my
class of nearly 100 students, there were 3 girls. At the
Midwest IDSA conference the ratio had to be 3:1 in
favor of girls.

When did that happen?

People in Brooklyn.















They are thinking of me on their Staycations.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Do the Write Thing.






































I ordered this t-shirt about 2 days ago
from an old CCS classmate.

It's completely rad and it lets me rep
Detroit hard while i'm out here deep
in the heart of Wisco.

Mail Time: Part Four.













































Wootie comes through and sends me a funny card. This
time she was clear not to include "oh, the places you'll
go" because last time she did that I ended up in China
for 6 months.

Thanks a lot, Wootie! It definitely made the new cork
board. Also, make sure to keep a lookout for a return
letter in the near future.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

New Helmet!
















I rode in to work today and a few of my co-workers drove
by me on the way in and noticed I was not wearing a helmet
(sorry, mom). Anyways, the Helmet team sits next to me,
so after giving me crap for not wearing a helmet, they
found a left over Large helmet and lent it to me to keep
me alive and protect their investment.

Free.
Bike.
Stuff.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Weekend Acquisition.























This weekend I went to Target and bought
a cork board and dry erase board for my
kitchen. I find that I need visual reminders
to do things sometimes and I figured these
would help. I realize they are kind of blank
as of right now, but I assure you, they will
be put to use.

I would also like to thank the McCullough-
Johnson family for their Target Gift certificate
that made this all possible!

Perks.
















So, at Trek, I basically inherited all of Chris Jivoin's stuff.
He was a designer at Trek who moved to Boston for a girl
and is dearly missed by everyone. I am using his desk and
most of his miscellaneous things like lockers and filing
cabinets he used during his tenure in the Studio.

I was cleaning out his locker/cabinet thing in the studio
and amongst all the prototype aero bars and one-off SLA
forks, there was this black carbon mountain bike frame.
It has a sticker on the head-tube that is shaped like the
Pabst Blue Ribbon logo but is completely blank and has
no other discernible markings on it. I showed it to everyone
and the unanimous response was "Welcome to Trek, that's
yours now". I guess it was an early carbon mock-up frame
for a design that never made it to market? It does not have
any of Trek's serial numbers on it.

Anyway, I just thought I would let everyone know that my
job renders me free carbon fiber things and that makes it
better than your job.

Mail Time: Part Three.













































Mail is really starting to flow in! This time CK sent me an
envelope with the letter on the inside of the envelope itself.

I was really sad on the trip from my mailbox to my room
because it felt like an empty letter. Imagine my surprise
when I found out that this letter was worth three (3!) photos
in my blog.

Keep up the good work guys!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Omelette.
















This morning, I had no idea how to make an omelette.

This evening, I am well versed.

Shanghai Crushin' Birthday Part Deux





















































































So, my 23rd birthday is coming up and incase you
were hunting for last minute gift ideas, I decided I
would help you out a little by providing you some
items for consideration.

1.Perrin Catted Downpipe for 2008+ STI's

2.iPad

3.Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

4.Canon EF-S 18-135mm

5.Bride Gias in Blue w/ Gradation

Be certain to coordinate as to not double up
on gift giving.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Cooking with Chef Ryan.































Today, I cooked myself an irresponsibly large sandwich.
It was a grilled chicken (teriyaki) with sautéed onions,
red/yellow/green bell peppers and pepper jack cheese
on a roll.

It fell apart right away, but that just meant I got to have
a grilled veggie side salad with my sandwich.

I am starting to get the hang of this stuff.

New Haircut.
















Went to "Cost Cutters" which I initially thought was an
H&R Block type place because we don't have those in MI.

Asked the nice lady make it so my hair does not stick out
of my cycling cap so much.

Consensus: I like it. On the ride home I felt 20lbs lighter,
my sprints were more fluid and my shadow did not look
stupid with hair sticking out everywhere. I even passed a
car or two in the 15 mph section of town. Functionally,
it is far ahead of what I woke up with. Aesthetically, it
looks like most every other haircut I have gotten in the
past 2 years.

Plus, Form follows function.

Market Street Diner and Bakery.
















It's like Red Knapps.

But way cooler.

And in Wisconsin.

Parts.































Went for an exploratory bike ride around my new place
to see what I could see and perhaps find myself a haircut.

One thing I noticed while crushin' is that there are a lot of
obscure nice cars out here. There was a beautiful BelAir that
I was not able to photograph as well as an elusive Mercedes
Grosser 600 that I have seen 3 time but never am I able to
capture a photo of it.

I was, however, ready for this Ford Fairlane stopping to
refuel and the Satellite parts car, getting dragged to a
garage to be built into a boulevard cruiser.

I guess it's not all bikes out here, which is a good thing.

Friday, April 9, 2010

The Local.
















My photo got put in the Local NYTime blog again.

http://fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/get-out-outdoor-flea-resumes/

Check it out.

Opening Day.


















Time to dust off the Wockenfuss jersey.

Go get 'em, Tigers.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.























After Lunch, the team visited MMoCA.
The collection was small, but the building
architecture was refreshing and they
had a few Barcelona Chairs upstairs in
the lounge.

We talked shop and introduced me to
come Trek happenings that I should
be aware of.

Man this place is cool.

Saigon Noodle.
















The pavement team spent the second half of the day out
in Madison for team building exercises. It was more of
a "Hey team, meet Ryan" type deal. It did net me some
free Vietnamese food and I got to formally meet Vi who
has been traveling for business my entire time. Chicken,
Shrimp and Vegetables.

Vi takes pictures of her food as well.

I'm getting in and fitting in.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Mail Time: Part Deux.































My one and only sister, Cate, sent me some mail that arrived
today. It was great to get my first hand written letter.

I want to assure Cate that I am running a tight, clean ship
over here and respecting women is priority one.

Come visit.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Turkey Eggs and Cheese.
















I made myself dinner today! I was feeling nostalgic for
my favorite Bodega "Yafa", so I paid homage to my boys
from Clinton Hill by replicating what they had perfected.

I substituted American Cheese for Pepper Jack, Turkey
for Pepper Smoked Turkey and added Cholula.

I feel as though they would be proud of me.

Making do all the way out here in the Midwest.