NAHBS in Sacramento was unbelievable, 8,100 people came through the doors over three days.  We won an award for the Best Track Bike, which I must admit, was both a pleasant surprise and flattering after seeing all of the other bikes that were on display.

This picture was by Troy McLaughlin.  There are more pictures of the bike on Mark Dawson’s site.  Pictures 3124-3191.

http://www.fattirefotos.com/events2012/NAHBS_2012/content/Rebolledo_Cycles_3124_large.html

Mark also took some stunning pictures of the porteur that was on display.   Pictures 1719-1762.  Check them out here:

http://www.fattirefotos.com/events2012/NAHBS_2012/content/Rebolledo_Cycles_1719_large.html

Movember

us.movember.com

It’s Moustache Season and I’m growing a fine moustache for Movember! Please support my growing efforts and the 33,000 men who will die of prostate cancer and the nearly 8,300 men who will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year. Thank you http://mobro.co/cyclemomo

This looks better than it usually does….if you are willing to believe that.  I can actually see the work surface in places.

Road frame with a Wound Up fork that will be match painted.

 Head badge installed.

Upper head lug.

Backside of upper head lug.

Lower head lug detail.

Internal rear brake cable routing.

Back side of bottom bracket.

Back side of seat lug cluster.

Side of seat lug cluster.

Drive side dropout.

Non-drive side drop out, inside face.

Drop out detail.

Drop out detail.

Drop out detail.

Drop out detail.

I was invited to lend a bike to the Sonoma County Museum for their new exhibit, Customized: The Art and History of the Bicycle, which runs through February 5, 2012.  I loaned them my personal track bike and they hung it alongside a Sycip track bike and right above bikes made by Ross Shafer and Bruce Gordon.  I am in good company.  If you are in the area and get a chance to go visit the exhibit, you will be pleased to find a nice array of bicycles and a good deal of local northern California cycling history.  It is well worth the trip.  Here a couple of things that I saw which caught my eye…

Wooden fork with intricate metal reinforcements.

Detail from one of the old posters on display.

I headed down to San Diego with Sean and Steve last week for the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show.  We stopped in San Luis Obispo again to see Tim and do some riding.  View from a ridge above San Luis Obispo, you can make out three of the seven sisters in the background.  The seven sisters are cones that remain from the volcanoes that formed there in the landscape.

The next day we headed further south, stopping in Carpinteria at a bike shop for some trail recommendations.  They suggested riding some trails above Ojai, so we hit the road.  A shop in Ojai was kind enough to let us lock up our show bikes, while we headed toward Gridley Trail.

Gridley trail was a fourteen mile out and back that switch-backed its way up to a pass that connected to a larger trail network that you could easily spend days riding.  The seven mile climb was humbling and the views were spectacular.  Steve went to his happy place during the climb.

The singletrack hugged the mountain side as we climbed.  It was cool in the shade even though it was in the 60’s all afternoon.  The views from summit were extraordinary and well worth the grinding climb.

After the ride we headed to Los Angeles and spent the night at Sean’s cousin’s place.  I had a great Rueben sandwich at Canters in West Hollywood that night.  In the morning we turned south again for the final push into San Diego and the bike show.  We had the booth set up in short order.

The randonneuse bicycle that I showcased can be seen in detail on my flickr page.  We met some interesting people at the show and saw some beautiful work.  The most inspiring for me was an understated bike made by Mark DiNucci.  Elegant lugs, impossibly thin, executed with grace and skill…

The most interesting and creative person that I met was Jeff Tiedeken, the enigmatic fabricator behind Monkey Likes Shiny.  A death-defyingly tall penny farthing and a gravity bike with tubes bent to resemble a Gordian knot and built to take you as far out of your comfort zone on a screaming descent as you are willing to let it.

All in all, a remarkable week of riding topped off by seeing some old friends and some new bicycles.  Now, it’s back to the shop….

In 2010 I took an unplanned sabbatical from bike building.  My father, Rudy, lost a nine year long battle with prostate cancer.  I spent several months on the East Coast with my family before and after my father passed away.  It has only been recently that I have been able to re-enter the shop and be motivated to work.  Seeing all of the old tools with “Rudy” engraved in them now brings a smile to my face and a flood of memories.  Using the old Bridgeport vertical mill that he helped me rebuild to cut my tubing and make fixtures, triggers a replay of the days and nights we spent carefully taking apart the head of that machine and laying out all of the parts as we cleaned, inspected and re-assembled them.  It is sometimes hard to describe and completely understand the effect that those close to us have on our lives.  We don’t always immediately grasp and appreciate what someone is sharing or trying to impart.  Today, as I use his old tools and that Bridgeport, I can see and feel the immense pleasure and satisfaction that we shared as I flipped the switch and the mill came back to life…

A couple of weeks ago, I went on the road with Sean from Soulcraft and Steve from AHTBM.  We were headed south for the San Diego Custom Bicycle Show in a 1971 Chevy Suburban.

There was a small leak that occasionally allowed some exhaust fumes to enter the cabin…we kept the windows rolled down and our jokes got funnier with each passing mile.  On the way down, we stayed in San Luis Obispo with Tim, an old friend of Sean’s, for a couple of days worth of riding.  The weather and the views were as amazing as the trails.

Our tour guide, Tim, leading the way down after an interminable climb.

View from the top of a ridge above San Luis Obispo.

Sean, ably piloting the Suburban down highway 101.

Steve shown actual size with the Suburban….

I didn’t take any pictures of bikes while I was at the show, forgive me, but there is a nice gallery here at the show website.  Look under the show information tab and click on 2010 Pictures.

I traveled down to Pasadena, California for the Velo Rendezvous and spent three days riding bikes and viewing an amazing collection of vintage lightweights. Ted Ernst brought in his collection of original fixed gear and track bikes from the 1920’s through the 1960’s. There was also an exhibition of Colnagos ranging from 1954 to 1985. The most memorable bicycle that I saw was a beautifully restored Mario Confente.

The Handbuilt Show in Portland last week was really inspiring. This is the third time that I’ve participated in the show and every time I walk away with a deep sense of gratitude for being associated with this group of artisan frame builders that all share a passion for the bicycle. From builders that have been making frames for over 30 years to relative newcomers, every builder brings a point of view that is manifest in the choices they make when building a frame. The myriad interpretations at the show are just a small sampling of what is being done, but having them displayed in that one hall for a few days was overwhelming. Here are a few pictures from our trip to Portland and the booth.