Bicycle Race.

Pretty good Queen song.

Even better way to spend your Sunday afternoon.

Sarasota Cycles: Pirate Bike.

The guys over at Sarasota Cycles have been preparing this

Pirate bike for display in their shop. It is an amazingly well

thought out piece with bamboo covered spokes, Skull and

Cross Bone Handlebars, Shackle Cranks/Pedals and a

flint-locking pistol which is used to change gears on the

Shimano 3-speed internal gear hub.

Crazy bike that has incredibly dialed component details.

I cannot wait to see it when it's completed.

Vanderbilt Beach.

While riding Trek Pure's around Naples,

we stopped off at the Vanderbilt beach to

grab a few shots.

We were woefully under prepared for the

heat and the beach, so taking pictures is

all we did before our about face.

Trek Store Naples.

We visited the Trek Store in Naples/Estero and I was

instantly greeted by Veruca, the shop Boston Terrier. I

had never seen a shop dog in a Trek Concept Store, so

I was delightfully surprised that the first encounter was

the best kind of dog! Veruca is there unofficial mascot

and is even included on the stores racing kits. It took

everything in my power not to buy the kit (I have 6

already and it was like $180) . But I thought I would

give this little plug to the store should you ever be in

town. We rented Pure's out of there rental fleet and

toured the beach scene in Naples.

If you do swing by, say hey to Veruca for me.

Link to the stores employee page that highlights Veruca's

contributions to the store:

http://trekbikesflorida.com/about/our-staff-pg127.htm

Bradenton, Florida.

14" single diesel stack in the bed.

'Merica.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

The side of the bridge was littered with gargantuan pelicans

using the air turbulence of the cars to achieve lift.

Lazy Pelicans.

Speed Concept 9.9

Hey Speed Concept,

Cool front brakes integrated into the

fork.

-Ryan

Carrollwood Bicycles.

I took a short research trip down to the

Tampa area to speak with dealers and

get updates on what they are looking

for out of products.

Central Florida is a crazy place because

the mainly deal in opposite ends of the

spectrum. You are catering to low mobility

aging baby boomers who are very price

conscious (i.e. we're fighting with the

junk you buy at Walmart) and on the

other end, there is a huge high-end

road/triathlon market with crazy P1

Madone and Speed Concept builds.

To some customers we can't justify how our

$350 Navigator is worth the price increase

over a junk Mongoose. To some customers

there is a 6 month wait-list for a bespoke

$15,000 road bike with a cool paint job

that weighs 13lbs and is made in Waterloo,

Wisconsin.

U.S.A.

Remnant of Industry.

We used to do something here in Sun Prairie. Now we are

just the place half way between Trek and Madison.

Kind of how like Detroit used to make cars and now it's

just the city you compare your city against to feel better

about where you live.

On a related note, a family friend just bought an abandoned

school in Detroit for $500.

God, I was Trek was there.

Kwame on the Tracks.

Kwame and I took a long walk down the

train tracks near my house. It was a pretty

warm day, so a few breaks were needed.

He led the way.

Nylabone.

Kwame loves his Nylabone.

GoPro HD 1080

I picked up a GoPro HD at the wheel and

sprocket show because they had a pretty

decent deal. While the particular package

I picked up didn't come with the suction

cup attachment, the discount was more

than enough to ignore that short coming.

I have done a few test clips and am excited

about potentially attaching it to a bike or

car and making some worthwhile footage.

240sx LS2 Swap.

Replacing a 2.4liter 4 cylinder with a 6.0l

LS2 from a GTO would net you a few extra

horsepower.

Why would someone take a 17 year old chassis

designed to handle 155 horsepower and shoe-

horn in a 6.0l 400hp lump of an engine?

Because Racecar.

Wheel and Sprocket: Bike Expo 2011.

Kate and I headed down to the Wisconsin State Fair Park

to try out a few bikes and perhaps make a purchase for her.

While we came to the Belleville Mixte Frame as our bike

of choice, they did not have the size Kate needed. (Trust me,

we checked using the kid's sizing chart)

Not wanting to go home empty handed, Kate grabbed a

pretty neat looking Giro helmet with houndstooth fabric

wrapped around it and I bought a GoPro camera for filming

some bike riding and spirited driving.

Open Exposure: Possessed Kwame.

Messing around with some open exposure shooting. Getting

excited about spring and going outdoors for photo excursions.

Kwame's body was remarkably still considering the amount of

travel his head had.

New Couches and Coffee Table.

Mom and Dad came by this weekend and dropped off a set

of new couches that someone in Michigan was throwing away.

Plus, they are plaid, so they match my shirts.

After we set up the room we headed to Target to pick out a

coffee table that just happens to match my TV stand.

Kwame has managed to sleep on all three items so I am

assured that they are all excellent additions to the apartment.