Getting Away From It All

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

PDW Circulus Promo 1 from James Wilson on Vimeo.

Some Summer Reading

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

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

The Work

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!

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

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

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

Wall of Death shot from here.

Fat Tire

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

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

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

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

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

Yep.

Skate Or Die

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

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

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

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!

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