Da' Snot Rocket

Getting Away From It All

2011-07-28T17:08:00.003-05:00

Jen and I recently had three old pals come to town. We were lucky enough to get out of town with them for a night of camping at our top secret high altitude car camp spot. The view was awesome, the fire was warm and the laughs were frequent. Perfect Friday night.

So, I Bought A Velodrome

2011-07-26T10:20:00.001-05:00

PDW Circulus Promo 1 from James Wilson on Vimeo.

Some Summer Reading

2011-07-06T13:42:00.003-05:00

Not sure if you've ever heard of Habitat 67. Check it out. Great book, by the way. Great article here as well.

Random Weekend Score

2011-06-22T12:31:00.002-05:00

So much damn information in here...dig it.

The Work

2011-05-11T13:12:00.004-05:00

I set up a chop saw at work yesterday, and got to work making additional supports for Circulus. As I was stacking them, I noticed the "build history" stamp on some boards. It made me smile. Sometimes doing something simple is the most fun. All of the lumber I've used thus far has been scavenged from other places. I was hoping to not have to purchase any new lumber, but I probably will have to get at least some new stuff.

CIRCULUS!

2011-05-05T12:29:00.003-05:00

Here is an article I wrote about the Circulus track for Urban Velo. It has been a pretty sweet ride thus far!

A Sense Of Time

2011-05-02T12:58:00.003-05:00

Jen and I spent the weekend on the Olympic Peninsula with some friends from the Midwest. Big trees, beautiful coastline and majestic mountains. Spent most of the afternoon on Saturday on the beach skipping stones, drinking beers and climbing on stuff. Lots of huge beached logs on the coast. Here is a shot of Ben counting growth rings, and marking 200 years. There were still lots of rings to go.

Travels

2011-04-06T14:50:00.001-05:00

Spent 17 days this spring over in Europe seeing rad places and hanging out with great friends. It was incredible. Here is a shot my buddy Weston snapped of Jen and I in Dublin on a bridge over looking the River Liffey.

Dose Of Badass

2011-03-27T13:28:00.003-05:00

Wall of Death shot from here.

Fat Tire

2011-03-14T16:51:00.003-05:00

Hell of a ride yesterday with Ryan T and JPow. Lots of climbing. Got lost for a bit. Peered over the edge. Saw some bitchin birds. Muddy, rainy and no one got hurt. Too bad at least...

Birds Eye

2011-03-02T17:30:00.003-06:00

Needs a coat of paint on the track surface, but it is up and running. Holy Shit It Is Fun. Here is a little teaser video for you too.

Wow

2011-02-28T10:40:00.002-06:00

Last six weeks have been pretty crazy. 12 commercial airline flights, 4 countries, moved PDW into our new HQ. Installed our own mini velodrome, Circulus. Yeah it's been quite a wild ride.

My Desk

2011-01-14T15:27:00.002-06:00

I'm sure that aside from the vise, metal shavings, iron and brand new 501s, it looks just like your desk.

Read Em And Weep

2011-01-13T13:39:00.001-06:00

Thanks ZR. The pony express just brought me a grip of Louis. Full House.

Yep.

2011-01-12T16:46:00.001-06:00

Skate Or Die

2011-01-05T17:54:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks back, we laced on the skates and hit the rink at the Oaks Bottom Amusement Park. It had been a long time since I'd had roller skates on. I of course crashed 3 different times. It hurt, thanks for asking. I thought about skating again today when I watched this video. Damn, I miss pond skating.

Some Days

2011-01-03T11:59:00.002-06:00

Some days are better than others. Take last Friday for example (pictured above). A day in the White River Canyon on Mt. Hood with JB and Preston was a far better day than the day I shattered my collar bone...just saying. Happy New Year.

Taste Of Home

2010-12-30T14:17:00.003-06:00

For no real reason, I started collecting old soda bottles about a year ago. I don't buy every one I see, but I've rounded up about 15 of them so far. They only requirements is that they are glass, I guess. On Monday, I got the above two bottles from my Mom for Christmas. If you aren't from Detroit, you've probably not heard of either Faygo or Vernors as they are fairly localized soft drinks. I'm a fan of both, and was really happy to include these in the collection.
One of the coolest things is that each bottle has not only it's own screened on logo, but most of the bottles have a unique shape, and some have really small details. I'm actually to the point now where I have to find a new place to display them, as I've filled up the windowsill where I've been housing them.

Holiday

2010-12-28T13:51:00.002-06:00

Sorry I've been below the radar for most of the month, been busy. Frank and I had another Christmas adventure, this time skiing in the White River Canyon on Mt Hood. Pretty much getting in over our heads, but learning and building lots of character. Good for the soul. Feels good to be back on skis.

Great Shots!

2010-12-09T12:55:00.002-06:00

Djonn shot some real film at the Wisconsin State Championship race. WOW. Check out more here.

New Ski Wednesday

2010-12-08T13:45:00.003-06:00

The Marquette Backcountry skis showed up, and I just mounted up the bindings. Also picked up a sweet pair of all black Asolo Extreme boots, to go with my all black ski set up. I aim to be the Johnny Cash of the slopes.

Yeah You Are.

2010-12-02T14:43:00.002-06:00

Simmering Ideas

2010-11-29T14:26:00.005-06:00

Speaking of playing in the snow, it has been really cool over the last couple of weeks to see what Dave Ollila has been up to. The Marquette Backcountry Ski is pretty much exactly what I've been looking for in a ski for years. I worked at a ski lodge at the pro shop back in my college days. Loved the other people that worked at the mountain (in the rental shop, lifties, bar tenders, groomers, etc.) but really disliked the people that came to ski. So much so that I never once even used my free season pass...however, if you take the resort out of the picture, and give me the powder, fun and friends well, I think you see where I'm going with this: Backcountry.
Dave describes the skis as "70% ski, 30% snowshoe, 100% fun." I'm not very good at math, but that is an equation that I can understand.
The above Voile bindings have been traveling around with me for years, just waiting for the right opportunity to carry me into the snow filled hills and woods for some earned turns! Pretty sure they came out of a box on non-sense back in my Surfer Publications days, not sure. Either way, I think I'm going to buy some of these fat skis from Dave and give them a try.
Dig it?

Snow

2010-11-29T13:04:00.001-06:00

Got up to the snow on Mt. Hood Sunday with Jenny, Elsa and Frank. We just walked along a Forest Service road for an hour before turning around and walking back. Not super exciting, but what the doctor ordered after too much food on Thanksgiving. Certainly need to get back up there soon.

Good Design

2010-11-24T13:29:00.001-06:00

I'd love to see more bikes with chain cases like the ones above. Such a simple, classy thing.

Nice!

2010-11-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

I've had this poster in my office for a few years. I never get timed of it.

The Good Book(s)

2010-11-08T16:38:00.002-06:00

I picked up a used copy of "Shelter" a few weeks back. Not sure if you've heard of it, but it is an incredible book with more than 1,000 photographs of people's homes from around the world. Mind blowing, awesome stuff. I had originally gone to Powell's to pick up a copy of Builders of the Pacific Coast, but it wasn't in stock that day. Little did I realize, they had been produced by the same man, Llyod Kahn, some 25 years apart. Do yourself a favor and buy them both from Shelter Publications!

It's Good To Be Me

2010-11-07T12:30:00.003-06:00

There were lots of great pics from last weekend, but this one that Cory Grove snapped at the jump is by far my favorite!

Holeshot in Urban Velo

2010-11-03T13:04:00.003-05:00

The article about Holeshot I wrote for Urban Velo is now online, check it out if you get a chance!

Good Design

2010-11-01T16:28:00.004-05:00

I purchased this Optimus 8R camp stove at Phog Bounder in Astoria this weekend. Very stoked on it. Awesome 1960-70s hiking stove. Just a little restoration project. Really cool, super simple design!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T15:46:00.002-05:00

Dave Roth Photo/ Cross Crusade #6 Astoria

Every pedal stroke hurt, but it sure was a fun race! Damn near every inch of the course was people urging ET to phone home, or "Go Elliot". The bike and my body are trashed, but once again: is there anything the Ahearne Cycle Truck cannot do?

In My Element

2010-10-26T17:53:00.001-05:00

The weather was pretty awesome on Sunday at the Cross Crusade PIR race. The above picture is from Jose Sandoval. I think he caught me doing what I do best: yelling at people racing their bicycles and drinking canned domestic lagers. If you figure out what you are good at, why mess with it?

Cuter By The Minute!

2010-10-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

Mount St. Helens

2010-10-21T15:32:00.000-05:00

So Proud Of This One Here

2010-10-19T12:56:00.004-05:00

Yes folks, that is my wife Jenny. She is getting into all kinds of fun stuff this fall, what with the Cross Racin and Wood Shoppin.
If you see her out there, give her a high five and tell her "Hell Yeah!"

Man In Black

2010-10-15T17:59:00.000-05:00

There is cool, and then there is Johnny Cash. Totally different.

10 Years On

2010-10-14T13:28:00.003-05:00

Came across this flyer from a race I put on 10 years ago. Where have you gone, Lightning Bolt Man and Brat Man? I miss those days. Reminds me of the Pink Floyd lyric from the song "Time"

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

Small

2010-10-13T13:13:00.004-05:00

Ever since the run up to Interbike last month, I feel like I've had my foot on the floor. Yesterday, I finally took a day for myself and headed to the mountains with Elsa. Jen ended up spending the day working on some projects, but found a great hike to Mcneil Point in one of our guide books. I got a bit of a late start, but was on the trail right at noon. The scenery is nothing short of breath taking for about half of the hike. The above shot is from the ridge traverse around Bald Mountain. In it you can see Sandy Glacier in the center and Mississippi Head to the right of it. The hike was somewhere around 9 miles round trip and took me a little under 5 hours. I ate lunch at 6,100 feet overlooking Mount St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt. Adams with Hood behind me. There was someone camped in the old CCC stone shelter on the point, so I didn't spend too much time hanging around there.
All in all, one of the best hikes I've ever been on. Judging by how much Elsa has slept and eaten since we've gotten back, I'd say she had fun too.

Baggataway

2010-10-07T14:53:00.003-05:00

I'll probably always be a history buff. I especially appreciate the history of sport. That being said, before I got really into cycling, my first love was North America's oldest sport: Lacrosse. Just yesterday my old man gave me an issue of Sports Illustrated from earlier this year that had this great article about the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team. The Iroquois team is unique in all of sports, as they remain a sovereign nation in international sports competition. This summer they were held out of the World Lacrosse Championships in the UK due to their passports. Very unfortunate for everyone involved, as I think not having the originators of the sport be there was terrible for the sport.
As an aside, my favorite lacrosse story took place in the state of Michigan. On June 2, 1763, a group of Ojibwe used a game of lacrosse to over run the British garrison of Fort Michilimackinac. The people in the Fort were fond of watching the game, and the natives of the area played several matches near the fort. During this particular match, as several men played, the women that were with them sat on the ground outside the fort. During the game, one of the Ojibwe hurled the ball over the wall of the fort. Not wanting to interrupt the match, one of the guards opened the gates of the fort to allow one of the players to run in and grab the ball, as the Ojibwe hoped would happen. With that the Ojibwe rushed to the women gathered outside the fort where they dropped their sticks, and traded them for weapons the women had hidden in their blankets. They rushed into the fort, and massacred the garrison.

RIP, Jure Robic

2010-09-27T12:05:00.002-05:00

I heard some terrible news last night that has been with me all morning. Slovenian cyclist Jure Robic was hit by a car while on a training ride, and died of his injuries late last week. I didn't know Jure personally, but I've been familiar with him since the summer of 2006 when someone handed me this article from the New York Times about him. I was just about to leave on RAAM to crew a British team, and a friend thought I would enjoy the article. I did. Sadly, Jure dropped out of RAAM that year, but roared back to win the race 3 more times.
You don't hear about guys like him very often. Truly a tough son of a bitch, I wish I was 1/8 as tough as he was.
Tailwinds Jure, Rest In Peace.

Superfan Season Is Here

2010-09-20T13:17:00.002-05:00

That is Jenny and Tonya, superfanning at StarCrossed this weekend. Weather was so hot you couldn't stand it during the day, but steadily deteriorated into the evening. Great racing. Trebon getting beat broke our hearts...

Cool?

2010-09-16T16:02:00.000-05:00

These blokes were defining cool when I was defining dirty diapers.

Surveyors Ridge

2010-09-13T11:58:00.003-05:00

Hammered out another quality Sunday ride today up at Surveyors Ridge. Great crew, awesome weather, stunning views of the mountain. All in all, win.

The Right To Bare Arms

2010-09-09T10:54:00.003-05:00

Jason Barnes Photo circa Y2K

Yeah, I spelled that right. I think if a guy doesn't want to have sleeves, he shouldn't have to have them.

Things Got Weird

2010-09-08T11:05:00.003-05:00

Last week, my old pal Ian Broughton came out to Portland for a visit. We did nothing but have a great time for 4 days, and it was really great to see him. On Friday, we headed for the Gorge to hike and hit Double Mountain. On the way out, we saw the above lenticular cloud hovering over Mt. Hood. I've never seen anything like it in real life, and I gotta say that mountain continues to impress me all the time.

The Lost Coast Trip

2010-09-08T11:00:00.002-05:00

JB snapped the amazing picture Sunday at the end of our ride at Paradise Royale. For those of you who haven't heard of it, I'm here to tell you: Some of the best mountain biking anywhere. Boom, I said it.
Crazy single track, a world class pump track, excellent camping ($8 sites, water, etc). And the best part is, there is no one there...

Holeshot

2010-08-31T16:37:00.004-05:00

Matt Battjes Image
What remains to be said about Holeshot? You can see some great pictures from Jose Sandoval here. There is a great video that Erik put together on Vimeo here. It was a blast, best bike event I've been a part of to date. It will be tough to top.

Remains Of The Day

2010-08-30T13:57:00.001-05:00

3 am Sunday morning...empty kegs on the track, just me and a big empty space where lots of people had lots of fun.

DIY

2010-08-28T11:06:00.002-05:00

It always amazes me what we can do with our hands and some good old fashioned gumption...Holeshot today. It's been a long last few days. I'm beat, full report soon.

Cycle Truck Signage

2010-08-25T18:49:00.002-05:00

Shelter Research

2010-08-24T15:54:00.000-05:00

I just spent $12 on these books at Powells Books. Man I love Powells books.

Nice Shot!

2010-08-23T13:36:00.003-05:00

Brenton Salo captured this great pic of Jen and the Cycle Truck a couple of weeks ago. Pretty nice shot, eh?

One For The Weekend

2010-08-20T15:58:00.002-05:00

We're off to camp and ride at McKenzie River Trail!

Irony

2010-08-13T12:21:00.001-05:00

Using the Cycle Truck to pick up a new car battery, and drop off and old one. There is some pretty sweet irony there. As I was riding to the battery store, I recalled this isn't the first time I've fetched a car battery by bike. Last time was for my 1979 Chevy Nova, Green Tony. It was probably 2000, summer time in Marquette. Put the battery in the basket of a bike named "Pedro". Pedro was a great bike, until it tried to kill my friend Pipp....

Sometimes...

2010-08-11T17:52:00.001-05:00

CT Pictures

2010-08-05T15:01:00.002-05:00

Boom. Check this monster out! I'm pretty stoked with the build so far. It'll have full fenders, and there will be a sign on the frame, and a deck on the rack. Otherwise, pretty much set. The fit is getting close, trying to stretch out on it as it is probably going to become my daily rider when our office moves to NE Portland and I've got to commute about 5 miles each way, instead of the 1 mile commute I have now.
I sold three bikes and a variety of other stuff to finance this sucker. And it was worth it!

Ahearne Cycle Truck

2010-08-05T14:53:00.001-05:00

I've got the CT pretty much built up. Doing some fit dialing. Pictures later today for serious.

The Bear

2010-08-03T17:32:00.004-05:00

JB shot this picture of Elsa Bear at the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend last weekend. I'm a fan. Beautiful shot.

The Powell Farm

2010-08-03T17:21:00.004-05:00

We don't claim to know too much about gardening, but we've done some stuff right this year. We picked lots of berries, and made some tasty treats with them. The lettuce did well, but it was a bit bitter for my liking. We just had some pesto pizza, so we know the basil did well. Above you can see how our tomato plants are doing. The top picture was taken last night, and the one below less than two months ago. Last night, Jenny had to lash one of the plants upright as it is getting so heavy it is threatening to take over the whole planter. On the four plants, she stopped counting at about 60 tomatoes! Incredible!

Sandy Ridge

2010-08-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

Rode some sweet trails. Shot a bb-gun. Drank some tall boys. Ate a steak.
Pretty solid summer Sunday.

Known Associates

2010-07-30T13:16:00.003-05:00

Circulus Maximus

2010-07-28T18:24:00.001-05:00

Lisa Anne Auerbach Photo
An offer has been made...now the waiting game begins...

Nights Like These

2010-07-26T14:31:00.000-05:00

We don't have them as often as we'd like.

Rely On Your Training

2010-07-25T23:07:00.003-05:00

As you can probably imagine, this was a terrible pot of coffee...

Hatfield Wilderness

2010-07-21T18:26:00.003-05:00

I snapped this picture on the Indian Point hike Jen and I took a couple of weekends ago. The hike was a loop, and this was what you saw on the way down...those distant folds are pretty amazing. I probably could have just sat here for an hour.

Hell Yes!

2010-07-21T13:29:00.000-05:00

This is going to be awesome.

Newness

2010-07-21T12:10:00.003-05:00

Brenton Salo snapped this shot of me last night. It is pretty awesome, don't you think? He does excellent work.

Best $9 I've Spent In A Long Time

2010-07-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

The Tour

2010-07-20T12:32:00.004-05:00

I'm certain you've been following the Tour this year? I hear it has been pretty good, but honestly I've not been paying too much attention. Not owning a television means I have to watch the stage somewhere else, or follow along online. I've tried, really I have. But after hearing riders complain that Stage 3 was too hard I kind of lost interest. Couple that with the ongoing Lance Armstrong doping investigation, and yesterday's "Shiftgate", I cannot wait for this years race to end. I'm totally burned out on it.

I think it was my friend Chris Potter that put the Tour in perspective in about 2000. We were gathered at Ft. Panic for our daily stage watching/beer drinking/meeting of the minds, and Potter remarked how much cooler it would be if the riders didn't have extra bikes, team cars, radios, etc. "Like it was in the old days." I can kind of remember laughing him off at the time. But now, I think he is right. I was researching some tour history, looking specifically for the story below:

In the 1913 Tour Eugene Christophe crashed on the Tourmalet. He had just taken the lead when he laid it down on the mountain. "He was unhurt, but his front fork had been snapped in two. As Christophe stood over his ruined machine, Thys (his main rival) sped away alone towards the stage win and overall victory.

Another man would have given up there and then. Not Christophe. He wept, but as he did so he picked up the pieces and set off on foot. Eight-and-a-half miles away, at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, he found a forge. The race rules forbade outside assistance, but Christophe was a skilled mechanic and forged a new fork from 22mm steel. As Christophe gripped the frame in one hand and a hammer in the other, he allowed a seven-year-old boy to work the bellows that supplied air to the fire. For this assistance, the race marshal who policed the operation imposed a 10-minute time penalty. Then Christophe filled his pockets with bread and set off over two more mountains for the stage finish. He arrived three hours and 50 minutes after Thys. Remarkably little, all things considered, but the Tour had gone."

That is the stuff of legends. You tell that story to people and they don't believe it. In this day and age where a guys mis-shift can cost him the race, and people call his rival un-chivalrous for racing onward, I feel like I just don't care anymore. They don't wait for the leader in F1 racing if he blows and engine do they? If you see Usain Bolt lose a cleat from his track spikes, are you gonna jog in place till you see him get it fixed? Hell no, this is racing.

Restoration

2010-07-19T14:14:00.002-05:00

Jen bought two of these chairs last summer and we've been waiting until the evenings were cool and dry to start restoring them. It is pretty fun to sit in the late afternoon/evening sun, sip a beer and scrape the old varnish off of these chairs. The smell of the dusty, stripped varnish is nostalgic for me, smells like Bob Klein's barn near Ionia, MI. We used to go there with my parents as kids. Bob has just piles and piles of old furniture stuffed into a couple of barns on his property, you just need to dig through for the good stuff.
Anyways, the chairs have quite a bit of detail, and they need quite a bit of work. I'll periodically post some pics so you can see how the work is going.

Practice Of The Simple

2010-07-13T14:30:00.005-05:00

I got it in my head last night that I was going to get up, hand grind some coffee beans and percolate them on my Snowpeak stove. Hadn't used the stove in years, but I had just purchased a can of gas about 2 weeks ago.
Need to practice to get the perk just right, but I gotta say it was pretty tasty, and that little pot was fun to use. I'm not sure exactly when/where I picked it up, but I'm glad I did!
It makes just enough for a couple of wayward souls who need to get a move on...

Otherworldly

2010-07-12T14:33:00.001-05:00

Indian Point

2010-07-06T17:15:00.003-05:00

This weekend Jen, Elsa and I went back out to the Gorge to do a couple of different hikes. Saturday we hiked the south side of Mt. Defiance, then did some dirt road exploration around Odell. We ended up at Double Mountain which is one of my favorite places to end any Gorge excursion.
Yesterday, we hiked Herman Creek up to Indian Point. The view above is the view from Indian Point. Really, really awesome. Highly recommended.

Mjöllnir

2010-07-06T11:23:00.002-05:00

The Hammer Of Thor. Bitchin, huh?

Build Something

2010-06-29T17:48:00.003-05:00

That there is a B-24 Liberator. My grandmother used to build them at the Willow Run factory during the early part of WWII. Pretty bad ass huh? Yep, I've always been proud of my grandmother. She really was Rosie the Riveter. Rose Zuziak.

Not Much To Post Today

2010-06-29T15:09:00.000-05:00

Eat Local

2010-06-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

Right off the raspberry bush at Powell Farm, and right into my belly.

Dymaxion

2010-06-21T15:31:00.002-05:00

Had a great opportunity to visit The Henry Ford Museum this past weekend with my folks when I was back in Detroit. One of the better surprises of the museum visit was checking out Buckminster Fullerss Dymaxion House. I've seen some of Fullers work before (he is the man credited with inventing the geodesic dome) but I was impressed with how ahead of its time the Dymaxion House was. I wanted one. Sadly, the only one is there at the museum...it did get me to thinking though...If you are ever in Detroit, I highly recommend a visit!

Live From The Big D

2010-06-21T14:31:00.002-05:00

Good times? Yeah we've had a few.

Pure Imagination

2010-06-16T16:53:00.003-05:00

Weekends Like These

2010-06-14T13:08:00.011-05:00

Handful of raspberries to start the weekend

USA-England world cup match with 2000 of my closest friends.

Rapha Party at Cirque de Cycling across the street from our party deck.

View of the Party Deck from inside Erik and Kathryns.

Front wheel details of the bike ridden by the Gentle Lovers Sam Nicoletti to an almost victory.

Da Murph wrestling Stan Beaver at Red Fox.

New raised bed Sunday.

First salad of two kinds of lettuce and spinach from our garden. Summer is here!

I've Always Loved Legos

2010-06-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

And Tron.

This Post Proves I'm No Photographer

2010-06-07T12:23:00.012-05:00

#1 South Dakota puts on it's game face, Day 2
#2 Chilling at a place called Bum Beach, Day 4
#3 Elsa at Bum Beach, wasted after pre work shred with guys from Lakeshore Bike, Quickstop and Sports Rack. Day 4
#4 THE Big Mac Day 6
#5 No trip to Kalamazoo is complete without a trip to Bells. Day 7
#6 Jen making cup cakes. Yeah, they were good, thanks for asking. She rules! Day 8
#7 Hot Knives Madison Wisco. I have no idea what day it is...
#8 Nebraska. Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. Oh, and Monkey Wrench Cycles. Day 11
#9 Elk Mountain, Wyoming. Day 12
#10 Choice Camping Spot, Walcot Lake, Idaho Day 12
#11 Eastern OR, wide open spaces. Day 13
#12 Elsa, happy to be home...

There you go. There were lots more photos, lots of great times. Sure was nice to see you all again!

Best Pinata Ever

2010-06-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

ZR had a Pinata at his BBQ, it was filled with tiny bottles of booze, black cats, squirt guns and some other stuff. It was the best pinata ever.

Wasted

2010-06-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

This is how I feel right now. Just spent two weeks, literally, on the road. Literally as in we traveled 5,300 miles through some wide open spaces. It was awesome. But right now, I'm trying to get my shit back together.

More very soon.

Things Can Go Badly, Quickly

2010-05-20T11:04:00.001-05:00

The Good Stuff

2010-05-19T10:30:00.003-05:00

So much history. Influences of the French and English. And a motto that is just so brilliant and fitting. Detroit Rock City.

Vision

2010-05-18T12:24:00.003-05:00

This house made of recycled windows is in Freetown Christiana in Copenhagen. Yeah, probably wouldn't work for everyone out there, but I'm a fan of it.

Testing

2010-05-17T15:38:00.000-05:00

\m/

2010-05-17T13:20:00.002-05:00

Ronnie James Dio shall become my spirit animal. RIP.

Reading List

2010-05-17T13:13:00.003-05:00

Really been on a non-fiction kick lately. I've also been getting a number of great suggestions from the Acid Sweat Lodge reading list. Just finished "Among The Thugs" by Bill Buford about soccer hooligans in the UK. Incredible.
Yesterday I scored a used hardcover copy of Alive. I've been wanting to read it since I was about 10, started on it last night. I'm not sure how it turns out, but those poor souls are stuck on a mountain and they are running out of food....

Cycle Trucker

2010-05-16T19:35:00.004-05:00

I lined up an Ahearne Cycle Truck for a photo shoot and to test out. Jen and I rode it around a bit yesterday, easily carrying each other around the neighborhood. Today we used it to run errands all over town. We're going to buy one. I'm already making a pile of stuff I need to sell to pay for it. I'll have it the rest of the week. I'll try to get some more photos and a bit of a review. One of the coolest bikes I've ever ridden. I've been admiring Joseph Ahearne's work for years, and have been interested in this bike ever since I saw the prototype last year at the OBCA show last fall. Really stoked to be able to test one out! The photo above illustrates that the rack is attached to the frame so the front wheel turns independently. Very helpful for loading/unloading, and it keeps the weight up front from screwing with your steering.

Mount St. Helens

2010-05-10T12:00:00.003-05:00

Jen, Erik, Kathryn, Da Murph and I summited Mount St. Helens yesterday. We all wore dresses in honor of Mothers Day. It was a pretty long day (about 9.5 hours from the car back to the car). We're all sunburned and sore today, but it was totally worth it. The above shot Erik snapped of me on the south face during the glissade down. You can see Mt Adams in the back ground. Best Sunday in a LONG time.

Think

2010-05-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

There Is Only One

2010-05-03T14:02:00.002-05:00

Speaking of being impressed, I only know one 30 year old woman who would climb up in this tree. And that is one of the many reasons I married her!

I will add, that I could not make it up there.

Tree Hugging Dirt Worshiper

2010-05-03T13:59:00.001-05:00

This is a cross section of a 365 year old Sitka Spruce we saw yesterday hiking in the Coastal Range. To say it was impressive would be the understatement of the year.

Water Collection Details

2010-04-27T14:27:00.003-05:00

Here is the collection system as it sits now.
The flexible downspout hose feeds into barrel #1. There is a filter made of scavenged window screen that keeps particulate matter from getting in, and also keeps the barrels from becoming mosquito breeding grounds.

Gathering rain is serious business, we have a trained guard dog on the premises. Good dog, Elsa. KILL!
Currently, the barrels are not tied into each other, but they will eventually via a simple gravity feed.

The Farm

2010-04-26T13:13:00.004-05:00

Aside from our water collection and compost operation, we've got greens in this spring. May be a bit early, but we're going to give er a go. We've got a smaller raised bed that we are planning to stagger start more greens with, so if these don't take, we can maybe do something else in this bed later this spring. The raspberries and strawberries are coming on strong, and we've got three tomato plants in as well. We're turning into a couple of real hippies, although we prefer to think of this as a "victory garden", so you can just call us patriots, mister.
I'll get some more pics up of the water collection system when I get all of the barrels linked together, nothing complicated just a gravity feed.

The Water Farm

2010-04-25T13:37:00.003-05:00

So it begins. The Powells have started farming water...okay, we're just "collecting" water. But I'm excited about the project none the less. We've got a pretty good line on free barrels and no shortage of rain. I was half assing it at the start, and filled a 55 gallon drum with out even trying. That is both awesome and terrible, because now we've got a barrel full of water I cannot even really move around. The set up you see above is before I tied the downspout right into barrel #1 via a flexible hose with a mosquito screen filter on it. Stage 3 will be connecting all the barrels, and installing a blow off valve. In retrospect, I should have started this project in the fall, and we could've gathered 8-10 barrels of water this spring already. We're trying to not use the hose to water our garden this summer (more on the garden coming soon).

Seen Outside Dairy Queen

2010-04-20T15:04:00.002-05:00