The Ultimate in Re-Cycling.

I would like to take a moment and introduce you to my bicycle.
Building this bike was long, difficult, but rewarding process. In order to build this bike I had to interact with many people from many different walks of life.

To begin I had to find a frame. I recalled that friend Sean had a bike chained to a stair case that he used to ride everyday, but after being hit by a car, the bike was unusable. So I called him up and he kindly let me have to the bike. I completely disassembled it and determined what I need to fix. For this step I went to Creedbilt.

At Creedbilt I was able to get the help of my former co-workers and straighten out the bent frame. I also removed any thing on the frame that was no longer need, like the derailer mounts, the outside chain ring, and of course the brakes. And since the paint job was destroyed by the grinding and the heating up of metal I decided to sandblast the whole frame. Then I began to put it back together.

After reassembling the whole bike I notice that I needed a new front fork, duh. So I went to several bike shops in order to find one that fit. And finally with the addition of the new fixed wheel-set I was able to take it for a ride in the parking lot of Try Me Bicycles, where I bought the fork and then finished assembling in the parking lot. It was beautiful.

after a few months I decided it was time for powder coating. So I took the whole thing apart and found a powder coater. I ended up waiting almost two months to get it back because they made it neon yellow instead of granny smith green. And then I tried to get it together and the bottom bracket wouldn't assemble, and I had took search around for another month to find the right part at the Bike Den.

Finally it is up and riding. Even though the process was long and hard I am glad I did it. Funny thing is, I want to build another.

And thanks to everyone who helped along the way.
More pictures can be found HERE

I urge you all to Drive Less and Ride More.

"Dude...play La Bamba!"

For the last few months Sundays have been pretty predictable. I go to Palatte, play for a couple hours, and then bus tables and run food. And up until 11:15am that was the case. Then all of a sudden between songs I could almost swear that I heard someone talking to me. And so until about a 11:30am I just ignored it. I finally decided to see why someone behind me kept saying,"Hey, Dude!"

It turned out that there was a guy standing by the bus stop on the other side of the fence. He was just hanging out and listening...and drinking. It was still morning time and this guy was chugging down enough Colt 45's to paralyze a horse. Once I realized this I just continued to ignore him. Needless to say, being ignored does not stop a drunk man. He just kept on with the,"Hey, Dude!". And by the time that I had announced that I had two songs left he was almost yelling at me. So with much reluctance and asked him what he wanted. "Hey...Dude, play La Bamba!" What??? Did he just ask me to play La Bamba? So I impatiently told him that I was trying to work. Again, not a deterent for a drunk guy.

Finally I lost my patience. With one song left I heard him calling me and I let it all out, "I don't know how to play La Bamba! Please just let me be." He responded so eloquently,"Just feel it. Feel La Bamba." Well I didn't so I played my last song and I turned around and he was gone.

Well I took the liberty to look up the lyrics:

Para bailar La Bamba,
Para bailar La Bamba, Se necesita una poca de gracia,
Una poca de gracia, pa' mi, pa' ti y
Arriba, arriba.. y arriba, arriba
Por ti sere por ti sere por ti sere.
Yo no soy marinero Yo no soy marinero
Soy capitan soy capitan soy capitan
Ba Ba Bamba
Ba Ba Bamba
Ba Ba Bamba

But what does it mean?  This is what it means:

In order to dance La Bamba,
In order to dance La Bamba, you need a little grace
A little grace for me, for you
and up up, and up up
I'll be there for you, I'll be there for you, I'll be there for you
I am not a sailor, I am not a sailor
I am a captain, I am a captain
Ba Ba Bamba
Ba Ba Bamba
Ba Ba Bamba

Maybe next time I will feel La Bamba...
or maybe I just need to show a little grace.