The Jet Bicycle - Video

Utterly fantastic stupid fun.  Legal on your local bike trail?…

Human Powered Helicopter

Caught this video making the Internet rounds and thought it worth reposting.  Actual human powered flight.  The sheer size of this thing is insane, yet flies by pedal power.  Pretty damn cool...

Recycled Cycles - Team Night

A week or two ago - been a little slow on the blog action - official team night for our school mountain bike teams.  Just so happens one of the boys on my junior high team, his dad owns Recycled Cycles, here in Seattle.  He offered to host a team night for the junior high and high school teams, complete with pizza and families invited.  Awesome.  Plus 10% off shop goodies and free reign to use the bike stands and tools.  Sign us up.

We had about 25 folks show, students and parents alike.  General chatting, milling about, and eating of pizza.  I didn't grab many pics, too busy yapping with folks and working on bikes.  A fun night and good excuse for the teammates to goof around a bit.

Steve, owner of Recycled Cycles, stares down a spinning wheel.  I was actually wrenching on teammate Scotty's bike, while my son Ian grabs the secret photo.  My own bike shop days ended in the mid '80s, yet it feels so right standing at the bike stand, searching for tools on the workbench and soaking up the shop vibe.

Recycled Cycles specializes in used bikes, but also carry brand spanking new models from Raleigh, Kona, Marin and Diamondback.  Plenty of bins with used parts to fish through, along with some cool vintage stuff to gawk at.  Mix of Old 'N' New to entertain all.

Old school steel Merckx with vintage Mavic goodies as added bonus.  Yes please.

Interesting stuff hangs from above.

Need a frame?  Take a gander, including the sweet Gunnar.

Just a sample of student riders and racers that attended.

This bike stuff is serious business.

So there you have it, a glimpse of the night's activities.  Fun and frolicking included at no extra charge.  Big kudos to Recycled Cycles for hosting and feeding us all.  When in Seattle, stop by and check 'em out.  To old school me, a "real" bike shop worth a visit.

Coaching and being part of the Washington Student League has been a blast so far.  Stay tuned for more details.  We now return to our regular programing, already in progress...

Help the Bender Family

Local cycling family hits some serious trouble, so cycling community pulling together to assist.  The Bender family - Mark and Sarah and their four boys - well known here in the Seattle area.  I'm not personal friends with the folks, but have chatted with them over the years at various races.  My son Ian has raced with their two older boys many times.  Sarah also coaches one of the student league mountain bike teams.  Very nice people indeed, a cool cycling family.

Apparently, while vacationing in Hawaii to celebrate their 15th anniversary, Mark suffered a serious spinal cord injury while body surfing.  They hope to have him stabilized enough to fly home in two weeks or so.  Serious stuff.  People now assisting with financial issues via fund raisers...

Doma Coffee Company donating profits on sales through April 30th.  Order online here.

Donations via their church here.

Facebook info here.

Life can change instantly, a reminder to never take anything for granted.  Super nice folks, buy some coffee - do some good - or donate direct. On my agenda for sure.

To put some faces to the names, dug through some of my pics.  That's Sarah above from a 'cross race this season.

Ian sandwiched between the Bender boys, Titus and Gidean.  Mountain bike race a few years ago.

Gidean putting the hammer down a few 'cross seasons ago.

I'm sure the Benders will pull through this.  There's a few thousand cycling family members pitching in to help.  Heal quick.

Time Measured in Shoes

Being the dad of a fast growing 13 year old Rider 'N' Racer, we've been through a few pairs of clipless shoes - as displayed above - in chronological order.  Not exactly a cheap proposition.  Spin the wheel and take your chances, on how long each pair will last.  Sometimes his feet seem to grow overnight, if not sooner.

Each pair tell a story and reflect the era used, especially for the short time span spent spinning in circles.  From left to right, the evolution of a cyclist and growing young man...

Specialized, euro size 40, purchased from my pals at Bicycles West.  Closeout deal from the Seattle Bike Expo back in 2011.  Agree or not, going clipless is a sign of becoming a serious cyclist, Ian moving away from sneakers and platform pedals.  Like most kids being a sponge at learning new things, appeared to master 'em in a matter of minutes.  Pretty cool for 11 years old.  More amazing, about a year worth of use outta 'em.  Plenty of fun rides and races via SPD connection to the pedals.

Northwave Sparta, euro size 41.5, team deal bargain from 2012.  Shoes worked well, though after a few months of use, not enough room for growing feet.  Various rides and races - mountain bike and cyclocross - powered through the Northwave soles.

Northwave Striker, euro size 42, team deal again - bought both pair of Northwave shoes at the same time.  Smart move. "Dad, my shoes don't fit", and quickly pull out the stored pair.  These in bad ass, look at me I'm pro, white.  Unfortunately, only worn a few times due to a riding slump and yet even bigger feet.  Maybe two fun rides and one 'cross race.

Pearl Izumi, euro size 46, from local REI.  After discovering the latest pair of Northwave shoes not longer fit the bill, uh, feet - a scramble to find something before the first student league mountain bike practice.  Now worn a whopping two times, while riding today, Ian mentioned they're already feeling a little tight.

It never ends...

Lake Washington Sunset

Cold 'N' Clear here in the Seattle area, replacing the usual Wet 'N' Damp that we all know and love.  Sorta.  Roots being from the east coast, I dig the occasional cold snap.

Some family time goofing around Juanita Beach today, complete with spectacular sunset over Lake Washington, water turning from red to pink the process.  Amazing.

Grabbed a few pics as proof.  See for yourself.  Hope everyone had a good weekend.

The Bicycle Shop Decal Project

Found this fun site - well, fun to bike geek me - that posts nothing but dealer stickers.  Old school and new.  Current and long gone shops.  Little adhesive backed pieces of bike culture and history.

My old shop, Whippany Cycle, where I spun wrenches and made a few friends for life back in the early '80s, even featured for all to gawk at.  I got a kick out of cruising though the pics - shops I've visited, purchased from, or know folks that worked there - cool little reminders.

Maybe you'll get a kick out of it too...

Happy Birthday Blog - What's Next?

December marks the fourth year I've been messing with this little ol' blog, first post being thrown out into Internet Land back in 2008.  For a fluffy personal blog, would consider heading into year number five a pretty long run, no?

Depending on what metrics to believe, I get a few thousand page views per month, not that I'm really counting.  It does crack me up when certain Google searches place my blog on the first search page. That's kind of cool.

Even though my main focus is still bicycles, I toss in other posts - vintage motocross, music, vintage cars - anything that interests me.  The posts that get the most hits, by far, are the vintage motocross posts.  Apparently lots more folks into old dirt motorcycles, then bicycles.  And that's okay. Two wheels is two wheels, pedal or moto powered.

My interest in photography as ramped up over the last year or two.  I get a big kick out of shooting races, especially cyclocross.  Later race oriented posts have morphed into picture albums and not much words, matching the change.  I really do enjoy shooting anything that matches my interest, and continue to learn and get better at it.

I've been riding bikes my whole life, and as the (alleged) adult since '84 or so.  Being a cyclist that long, at times motivation and interest, ebbs and flows.  A few years ago, was riding close to 200 miles a week - hard core bike commuter, plus mountain bike rides on weekends.  The last two years, not so.  I haven't bike commuted to work since last June, a major slump - new job and other factors being the excuse.  I still squeeze in some mountain bike rides and suffer on the trainer in the garage occasionally.  I only raced once last season, but a memorable event - my first 24 hour mountain bike race.  Big fun, made extra so, since shared with my son.

Speaking of my son, Racer Boy Ian, his biking interest slowed down this year also.  Still interested, but not as gung ho as before.  He competed in a few cyclocross races this year, skipping some towards the end of the season.  Sick a few times, homework projects, and a bit of burn out contributing to the early end of the season.  This is all supposed to be fun, no need to push it - especially at 13 years old.  His race team, Northwest Velo/JL Velo also folded up (or scheduled to this month), which seemed to bum him out a bit, along with the jump to junior high school.  Life changes and plows ahead.

A good aspect about ebbs and flows, is the recharge when things ramp back up.  And on the bike front, we're headed for the upswing and some cool changes.  Ian, along with most of the junior racers on his old team, were invited to new team - Team Slalom Consulting.  Ian being more dirt oriented with mountain bikes and cyclocross, and the new team being more track and road oriented, we'll see how it goes.  Ian is open to trying the track gig out, and so many people (now) on the team race 'cross, that will still be there.  Should be interesting.

On the mountain bike front, I've gotten involved with local high school mountain bike race league, now open to junior high kids.  Things are just starting and yours truly - that be me - signed on to run a junior high team.  Ian included as racer.  Coaching conference and details to follow. Getting more kids riding bikes is right up my alley, should be a great experience.

I will return to my bike commuting ways towards spring, since new job has calmed down a bit.  And I really, really miss bike commuting.  I'm itchy to experience the twice daily dose of two wheeled goodness once again.

So there you have it.  Kind of blog birthday, year review, and what's coming up - all rolled into one rambling post.  To anyone who actually reads this blog, I'm flattered and thanks for the time spent doing so.  I should have some fun things to post about in the coming year.  

Thanks for sharing the ride.

Blue Angels - In November?

My iMac is bursting at the seams with pictures, hard drive full enough to effect performance.  I have one Firewire drive I use for backup, time to get more drastic and move/archive pics to another drive for storage.  This way my pics are sitting on two drives once moved off the iMac.

Drives do fail, so better keep an archive on at least two external drives.  Trust me on that.  You can then also move one drive off site - work place, neighbors house - just anywhere not under the same roof.  Then you're covered in case of fire, theft, or other scenarios you don't wish to think about.

While moving my Pile-O-Pics around, came across a few shots from the summer.  The Blue Angels visit Seafair every year and I've hit the show occasionally over the years.  This time finally armed with a decent camera, my Nikon D7000.  Thought I'd post a few for pondering, better then fermenting unseen on a hard drive.  That's my take on photography anyway.

Considering I've never shot an air show in my life, jets blowing by at crazy speeds, 70 - 300 mm lens at the ready, I didn't do too bad.  Add in sweat literally stinging my eyes due to the heat, amazed I caught anything at all...

Oh yeah, should also mention, the Blue Angels are loud.  Uh, really loud.  An insane cool noise though.  With that, I'm out.  Hope you enjoyed the pics.  Until next time...

Cyclocross on the Cheap

Bike racing can be expensive - stupid expensive - if you want it to be.  It doesn't have to be that way - with a little knowledge and elbow grease - racing on the cheap is totally possible. Building up bikes or searching for used stuff can also be a gas, if you're so inclined.

I've kept my son, Racer Boy Ian, rolling with decent race ready bikes on the cheap for a few years now.  Used bikes, Part-O-Swaps between frames, and new bike deals in the mix to keep things rolling.  The price of being a one paycheck Family-O-Four.  Expensive bikes on hold for a few years.

While eating dinner tonight, pulled a back issue of Cyclocross Magazine out of the Pile-O-Mags, as I can't seem to eat with reading something. I'm sick that way.  This issue containing an interesting story of putting together a new 'cross bike for low dough, that I re-read and getting a kick out of for a second time.  Bike pictured above, borrowed from the online version of the article.  Total cost for the race ready rig, via various sources, came to $643.  Entire bike for less then the cost of a high end wheelset.  Very cool.

Sure, a new Ibis or Steelman would be sweet.  If you can't swing the cost of something along those lines, don't let it deter you from racing or riding.  There are other avenues of getting out there.

Also a nod to Cyclocross Magazine, now one of my favorite mags.  Grassroots and run by people in the know.  If you haven't done so already, very worth checking out.

The Jiggernaut Frame Building Jig

While cruising though Kickstarter - cool site where people donate to fund various projects - came across this project, already fully funded and I'd assume in production.

Affordable jig to try your hand at building a bike frame.  Fantastic idea and well executed.  And affordable - at least during their pledge drive - $299 for the jig.  $499 for jig and tube set to construct a road frame.

Dust off the old brazing skills from high school metal shop class, and you have yourself a fun winter project.  As per their official site, not sure if available yet.  I gotta find out - I want one.

Left Side Story - No Excuses

If this film doesn't give you the inspiration to do something, whatever your something is, might be time to order up that rocking chair and subscription to Readers Digest.

No excuses, no waiting.  Amazing, motivating story to get you moving...

Everyone's a Winner...

Caught this online, obviously some sort of euro Candid Camera show.  Pretty funny, give it a spin.  Would be a goof to set this up on your local bike path...

Happy Birthday to Me

As of today, I'm now over half a century old - scary, eh?  51 years young and counting.  Pretty quiet birthday, especially compared to last year. This year celebrated by sleeping until 11:30 AM, followed by a breakfast/lunch at the local pancake house with the family.  Big pile of potato pancakes and side of bacon, thank you very much.  A round of miniature golf - daughter Amy digs that - to help the digestion (burp).

As the sun sets, a shared ride with son Ian, who requested a road ride - being Mr. Dirt - quite the rare event.  I think watching the Tour over the last few days has taken effect.  I dusted off his 'cross bike, not touched since 'cross season ended last December.  Being the rapidly growing (almost) 13 year old, the little Redline now too small for him.  I cranked the seatpost up as far as possible and slammed the saddle back on the rails.  Still about two inches too low, close enough for a quick cruise.  I also stole the old school Ritchey 28c tires from my RB-1 and swapped out the 'cross tires for something smoother.

We hit the Sammamish River Trail and headed towards Woodinville, Ian riding 17 - 21 mph with no problem, looking like a mini-pro.  Cool.  At one point, ran into Bill, one of the Old Guy Ride regulars, getting in some road miles.  Wished me a happy birthday and his age came up, being 61 years old.  Bikes are the fountain of youth, no doubt about that.  Bill mentioned recently doing a ride with a well riding 71 year old.  Awesome.

Ride done, about 20 miles total, head home to late dinner.  Wife Lori had the spread on the table ready, including chocolate cake for dessert.

Not a bad way to turn 51 - here's to many more years and rides...

Memorized Zen

Hit the local woods for a quick spin after work, official iPhone shot as photographic proof.  I'm a damn lucky boy to have fun singletrack ridable from the house.  Sure, I've been riding the same trails for 23 years now - though they've morphed and changed over time - but I'm still not sick of 'em.  Different seasons, fitness levels, direction traveled, various bikes, riding pals, solo cruising, and moods - make 'em new at times - over and over.

Some rides I hit completely stupid lines on purpose, or try to wheelie between corners.  Other rides I'm on auto-pilot, cruising memorized singletrack at speed while daydreaming, creating sort of a Zen experience.  Sometimes while falling asleep, I mentally cruise through my usual loop, as if riding.  Strange, eh?

Thousands of rides on these trails imprinted in my defective brain.  I'm a damn lucky boy.

BB Watery Grave - Fix O Rama

While cleaning and doing a little drivetrain maintenance on Racer Boy Ian's bike today, noticed the crank would barely spin.  Popped the chain off, another test spin - yup - BB bearings were toast.  Two years of Pacific Northwest mountain' bikin' cooked 'em.  Seemed a little early though, especially since I transfered the crank and BB to this latest frame a few weeks ago and they felt fine.

I pulled the crank out and discovered the left bearing was okay, the right one was pretty rough.  Bottom bracket was also full of water, from washing the bike and general Wet 'N' Muddy riding.  I should also mention, if you're familiar with Shimano BB sets, bike was built up minus the plastic internal sleeve - which also helps protect the bearings.  I cracked the sleeve during the original build and tossed it.  So, maybe two years under those conditions seems acceptable.

Dead BB means no riding, quick fix in order.  Fine folks at Kirkland Bicycle, located strangely enough in Kirkland, had a Shimano BB set in stock.  After a quick install, this time with plastic sleeve in place, bike was rolling once again.  Oh yeah, I also drilled a small drainage hole in the bottom bracket shell to allow future water to escape - I hope.

Being old school bike mechanic with shop days from '81 - '84 (or so) - with knowledge of rebuilding old school bottom brackets that required a pile of tools and a bit of experience - these modern cranks still amaze me.  Sure, the bearings are not rebuildable; but with so few parts, light weight, and ease of assembly - impressive.  Even this LX crank, lower on the Shimano level of coolness, is a really great crankset.  If something like this showed up at the shop in '82, we'd have thought it arrived via Area 51.

Technology marches on, as well as riding - which is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Shimano Shifter Hell

Welcome to Shimano hell, I'll be your tour guide.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a Shimano fan - they make great stuff.  However, I'm cursing 'em a bit at the moment...

Replaced the rear derailleur cable on my zippy Ibis carbon road bike, which runs Ultegra STI shifters.  Piece-O-Cake, done in no time flat, been through this routine before.  Bike in workstand to adjust shifting - won't shift all - nada, ziltch.  What the heck?

Closer inspection reveals cable end in shifter not sitting where it should be, appears to be above the grooved slot.  Either I threaded the cable incorrectly, missing the grooved slot and housing (most likely), or the barrel cable end somehow pulled through the housing (unlikely).  No big deal, I'll push the cable back through the shifter and reseat.  Not so fast Bunky...

After an hour of screwing around, along with an additional 20 minutes from a neighbor - seems to be impossible to push the cable back through - gap is too tight.  Attempted to push cable with a thin awl from the back - sorry.  Grab from the front with needle nose pliers - sorry.  Removed two screws to hopefully access via plastic hatch - sorry.

Cutting the new cable would do nothing but allow the cable end to drift somewhere into the shifter housing.  Crap!

Considered removing pivot bolt lock nut and see where that gets me. I chicken out knowing STI shifters are not really designed to be taken apart.  You can just see the tiny springs, spacers and various watch like parts waiting to explode all over the garage.

After some online searching, discover this is a fairly common problem, though usually occurs when a worn cable snaps in the shifter, leaving the barrel end stuck.  My dilemma is similar, though my cable is intact.  From the online pics and stories that I read, some wound up buying a new shifter after unsuccessfully trying to remove the cable - some bike shops unable to remove as well.  Others drilled a small hole into the shifter housing to access the snapped cable.  Most removed after hours of poking and prodding with various awls and dental type tools.

Man, you'd think Shimano would have designed some kind of access hatch to remove a broken off cable end.  Replacing an expensive shifter assembly because of a broken cable is just plain nuts.  Even though my problem appears to be self induced, amazing that I can't easily remove the cable.

I plan to cut the new cable a few inches back and remove the shifter from the bike.  Then sitting a table with good lighting, can twist and access the shifter internals as needed.  Neighbor lent me a thin awl and really skinny needle nose pliers to poke around with.  What a pain in the uh, shifter.

Wish me luck.  

BOY - Powerful Short Film

Moving and incredibly well done short film.  Break out the hanky before viewing.  Having a cyclist son myself, even more powerful.  I wept both times viewed.  Call me sappy.  Impressive little film.

Levi's Commuter - Aboard the Bandwagon

While searching though Blog Land, came across a post in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, yapping about Levi's getting into the bicycle clothing market.  Debate if the concept is just a flash in the pan for Levi's, jumping into the commuter/transportation arena, or something that will stay in the Levi's lineup for awhile.

My vote is flash in the pan and Levi's will abandon the concept sooner or later, this whole "cycling thing" a blip on their marketing radar.  Even so, even with hipster alert written all over it, I still think what they're attempting is cool.  How many large, household name companies are pushing bicycling?  And indirectly, that's what they're doing.  Anything that gets cycling in the mainstream media is a good thing.  And if commuting and transportation oriented, even better.

The cycling racer image, of which I'm 100% guilty, will never sell to the mass market of everyday folks and get 'em on bikes.  Not going to happen.  Seeing people riding with street looking clothes - heading out to work, shop, whatever - more of an impact, I think.  The racer wannabe, training ride mentality, is a roadblock to getting more folks on two wheels.  And if the hipster fixie crowd gets more people on bikes, I'm all for it. Skinny jeans, sneakers, and toe straps included.

Check out the Levi's commercial.  When was the last time you saw anything advertising wise from a huge, non bicycle related company, spotlight cycling in such a positive way?  And for that, kudos to Levi's.  With any luck, I'm proven wrong and they sell piles of clothes and people actually wear 'em riding their bikes. 

Nothing wrong with that picture.

Seattle Bike Expo 2012

Spring in the air, despite temps in the 30s and plenty of rain lately.  The annual Seattle Bike Expo is proof of impending warmer weather and more time spent on two wheels.  Full family outing last Sunday to partake in the expo festivities.  Even non bike crazy wife Lori and daughter Amy appeared to have a good time.

This expo is allegedly one of the larger events in the US, presented by the Cascade Bicycle Club, which is allegedly the largest club in the US.  With the number of booths, bikes, events, and people milling about for two days - probably true.  I've hit this gig for many years now, not a bad way to spend a few hours.  It also allows the opportunity to run into people I know from the local bike scene, and that's always cool.

A few Pics 'N' Words to commemorate the day...

Racer Boy Ian volunteered to hand out catalogs and assist at the Redline booth, one of his team sponsors.  The junior racers pulling various shifts for the two days.  Despite his far away camera look, Ian mentioned his two hour gig was fun.  I think it's also a good experience for a 12 year old, no?

CBS, that's short for Cascade Bicycle Studio, brought out some high end toys to gawk over, including this sweet Seven.  CBS is run by Zac Daab and Terry Buchanan, who are also very involved with the local cyclocross scene, promoting the super successful MFG series. 

Racer Boy Ian has two full MFG series under his belt, and I've dabbled (painfully) in a few races myself.  Believe me when I say they're cool events, we've been to quite a few.

Many vendor booths to cruise through, including Schwalbe, the maker of fine tires.  I've never ridden Schwalbe tires, just posted this 'cause I like the picture...

Dirt Rag Magazine has sported a booth for a few expos now.  I've been a subscriber for 20+ years; my favorite bike magazine and always puts a smile on my face when it hits the mailbox.  If you ride mountain bikes and don't read Dirt Rag - well, frankly - I feel sorry for you...

Soma San Marcos built up real world style.  This frame was designed by Grant Petersen of Rivendell fame, so I'm sure it rides great and now available at lower price point.  Corporate types call this a win win situation.  Very cool, but not really my style; though lately I've had the jones to build up a Soma Smoothie frame.  A little more race oriented, but room for fenders and affordably priced.  It also appeals to old school steel me.

Speaking of old school steel, here's a modern twist on that.  The Colnago Master. Yes please, I'll take one.  Oh yeah, I can't afford it.  I'll weep silently, in Italian.

Paul Component Engineering at the expo this year.  Table full of very trick, handmade in the USA goodness to lust after.  Very nice stuff.  Daddy like.  Please send money.

Co-Motion has been quietly making really nice bikes down in Oregon for many years.  This model, the Nor'Wester, very nice steel road bike - with room for fenders.  Oddly enough, I've always wanted one of their aluminum Ristretto models, a no nonsense race bike.

One of the many scheduled talks included Geoff Drake, author of the recent Team 7-11 book, along with Ron Hayman, former member of Team 7-11.  Cool, eh?

Unrelated fun fact:  I used to work for the company that made those speakers flanking the stage.  BFD, I know.

Mountain bike technology marches on with this Norco Revolver as proof.  Lightweight 29er with full suspension.  Pretty trick.  Something like this is right up my XC alley, and a reminder how far things have progressed since I started mountain biking in 1984.  I'm fully digging my 29er hardtail, curious to sample some full suspension models.

Behind the Norco, notice the downhill type Trek in the Bicycles West booth.  Bicycles West is a chain of shops in the Seattle area, run by two guys I know - Kurt and Jim - who took over the operation about a year ago.  Great folks, check 'em out for service and/or a new bike. Kurt was the long time local Trek rep, before diving into retail himself.  Kurt and Jim really know bikes, they won't steer you wrong.

Oh yeah, Jim also used to work for the company producing the speakers mentioned above.  See, this was all somehow connected.

Federal law dictates all bike expos must include a BMX show.  We are now in compliance thanks to the Ride and Glide Extreme Sports Stunt Team.  Say that three times fast.

The Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance does plenty of goodness to keep mountain biking alive and legal in the Seattle area.  I stopped by and plunked down some dough for a family membership, been awhile since I've done that.  During the early the mid '90s, I was pretty involved with the club, then known as the BBTC (Backcountry Bicycles Trail Club).  Cool to see how its grown and run by a whole new generation of riders.

Nice titanium 'cross bike from Davidson Bicycles.  That's Bill Davidson himself peering through the spokes.  Davidson has been turning out custom frames from the back of Elliott Bay Bicycles for many years now, and if you're in the market for a handmade frame, they should be on your list.  I recently had 'em tweak my beloved Hakkalugi frame back into shape.

Super sweet steel road bike from 333fab, a local Seattle builder.  That's Maxwell Kullaway peering at his own work of art, since he's one of the brains behind 333fab.  I chatted with Max at the show and once before during a MFG 'cross race.  Nice guy and nice bikes.

Another bike from 333fab and my favorite of the show.  Insanely spiffy titanium 'cross bike.  Oversized headtube, Breezer style dropouts, simple graphics and serious race look.  Man, I really dig this.  Expensive as hell, but potentially your do everything and last forever rig.

Expo featured a classic bike show with all kinds of history represented.  Back in my day, this Schwinn "Orange Krate" was the cool ride.  Well, until BMX took over and rendered these bikes into the garage, hibernating to fetch loopy prices on eBay - back to old dudes who wish they kept theirs - rendering the crazy circle complete.

Old school Merckx looking perfect in orange.  All hail Eddy as he beams from the head tube.

Classic Masi and Gios keep each other company.

Schwinn Paramount track bike.  Fixie hipsters unite.

Old school travel frame. In Campy we trust.

Daughter Amy plays the name the bike parts game.  One of the kid zone features.  Racer Boy Ian looks on as big brother.  Unknown kid in blue sweatshirt stares at folding chair.

Kids attack the riding course, while green shirted Cascade volunteers block the exits.  There is no escape.

Pics out of order, we'll conclude with a classic Cinelli.  Bask in the chrome and Campy shift levers.

That's all from Seattle Bike Expo 2012.  A full afternoon of bike gawking and bike chatting.  Catalog collecting and picture snapping.  People watching and hamburger eating.  Yup, a full day.  We'll be back in 2013 to repeat the process.  Until then...