Gettin’ Ready

Dialing in setups this past week. Started with my personal build: Rebuilt the fork with fresh oil and swapped the 20mm limiter for a 10mm limiter. Now with sag she’s sitting pretty with 100mm of travel.

This is big. I have to say the anticipation was killing me. The driver called about 2 hours out just to let me know he was on route from Airgas with my delivery. So pretty much any design work wasn’t going to get done as I couldn’t concentrate. I’m like a kid in a candy store with this kind of stuff. My enthusiasm for the small victories can be overwhelming sometimes. Needless to say I spent some time with the driver chatting and thanking him for making the trip out to the shop. Always good to thank those who are working hard each and every day. Makes good friends, it’s good business and you’re remembered so when you really need something, they come through for you when you’re in a fix. What comes around goes around as they say.

Once we got the bottle in place and things were setup, it was time to get all of my welding gear from my “bike shop” up at the house and bring it down to the studio. As you know I picked up my welder early last february. I’ve been sitting on that thing since then. I tend to do that. Lot’s to learn on this welder. It’s the first Tig Welder I’ve owned and it’s the first one that I’ve used that incorporates a DRO. All the others I’ve used in the past were dials and switches. “Old Fashioned” as it were. I was sure to make note of my settings so I can translate them to this machine and have a base point.

Stoked? And how. Now to start practicing to shake out all the dust and cobwebs.

It’s pretty odd to not have snow in NH let alone be riding on local trails in the middle of February. This is a first for me and I’ll take it! When Leigh and Franky first moved up they had a similar winter and thought NH winters were going to be a breeze. NOT. We got slammed the next year and the year after that when we moved up too. But did a short loop I do when time is limited. Super fun and Kaya was blazing the trails which were in great shape. I met one of the land owners, Reed, who was out for a hike. Most of the trails around the shop are on private property and it’s really great to connect with land owners when you can. I thanked him for letting us build trails on his land and sharing it with others who are passionate about trails.

Corner stoke:

Checking a few tid bits before I finalize the seat stays.

Back together again, originally uploaded by 44 Bikes.

Via Flickr:
www.44bikes.com

It was warm enough today to get out to the shop. Worked on venting the head tube, dropouts and bottom bracket. More soon.

Vented, originally uploaded by 44 Bikes.

Short but sweet ride in the snow today…

SNOW, originally uploaded by 44 Bikes.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I was interning at Bicycling Magazine under my now good friend Chris Neyen who was at the time, the Graphic Designer at Bicycling. I met him on the trail of all places on South Mtn. one afternoon. One thing led to another during conversation and he insisted I come in for an interview.

As I was helping out with graphic elements of the magazine and such, Rodale needed a rider for some shoots and I agreed to take my bike out and ride around. Ride back and forth while someone takes some pictures? I’M IN. Paid to ride your bike. Not a bad gig. Well, all along this time I was still figuring out my life path and ended up visiting RISD’s Industrial Design program. In the meantime, I continued to ride, work at Bicycling and help out with the occasional shoot waiting to find out if I had been accepted to the Rhode Island School of Design. In the mayhem, I was asked to head south for an article. The above cover shot is the result of that trip.

Fun times and got to meet some great people, professionals and just have a good time doing what I love to do. Not long after this, I got my acceptance notice in the mail from RISD and was really at a crossroads: Super cool job at a bicycling magazine OR go back to school to follow my dreams… Chris basically kicked me out and said “Rodale will be here if you come back”.

I’m glad I took that step and Chris encouraged my to do so. Actually everyone at Rodale was super supportive and I am grateful for my time there.

From the Archive: Mtn. Bike Mag – Dec/Jan 2000, originally uploaded by 44 Bikes.

Just another reason why I want a lathe more each and every day. Nothing beats making your own parts, (and in this case) lacing them up and riding them. Machining a hub shell manually on a SB Heavy 10 with 4 jaw chuck. RISD I.D. Metal Shop ruled…

From the Archive: Hub Making, originally uploaded by 44 Bikes.

Deep New England woods log ride. Short but fun.

As I was doing research for my shop build, specifically insulation if I recall, when I came across this wonderful site: The Garage Journal. It’s a website dedicated to garages that have been turned into shop spaces. To be read: Man Caves. Some are just that, others are custom speed shops and others are home to tinkerers, fabricators or just a guy looking for some space to make. What drew me in was the vast resource of knowledge that everyone had as well as the inspiration for my own shop build. I decided that once I had enough done, I would post up my own build and see what others thought. The response has been great and it’s been even more fun to share.

Recently it appears I’ve caught the attention of the admin’s and they were kind enough to make me a feature garage build. Check it out here!

Lot’s more in store for the shop. Follow along here on the blog, on my flickr shop set or over at the Garage Journal thread for my shop!

Put 2011 in the books. Looking back it’s been quite a “ride” indeed. Lots of riding, even more hammering nails, making chips, cutting tubes, and beyond. I was looking for an image for some design related work earlier this week and stumbled on this one:

I had to laugh. That was last fall. Here she is in all her glory this past fall:

That of course brought me to these:

That’s an absolute shit-ton of work… I can’t even believe I did that much since I first started pulling down the walls in April of 2011. It just makes me step back and shake my head in disbelief in my own discipline and hard work.

Once things were relatively complete inside, it was time to move the mill. I ended up doing that by myself. I remember waking up about 5am and couldn’t sleep. Ate breakfast. Got a cup of coffee and just went down the shop and moved that thing myself. I couldn’t stand it any longer. It was an hour of a bit of tension, some effort and plenty of strategery. But getting it ready and wired up was just amazing.

But this is what it all comes down to here. All that drive. All that effort and investment. To be able to stand in front of the mill and get to work was amazing:

Fruits of labor soon came pouring out of my bridgeport:

And if that wasn’t enough – proofing everything has been a blast. To finally put everything to actual use was very powerful and mind bending at the same time. To be standing on my own two feet and accomplish that goal was extremely gratifying. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was:

There’s still a lot of work to be done. Hell-I’m putting the ceiling in this weekend and will be finalizing the lighting the next. The new site is up and running Ordering Argon will be in short order. I’ve actually put off ordering it because I know once it shows up there will be no turning back. I’ll want to weld all the freakin’ time. I’m that passionate about TIG welding. It’s addictive and I know myself a bit too well.

Here’s a parting shot. That’s what’s on the front door of the shop and the first thing you’ll see if/when you stop by for a visit. Simple and to the point. This is the door you enter where it all takes place. I can’t wait to share 2012 with everyone who has been following. If you think 2011 had a lot in store, then you’ll be as stoked as I am about 2012. It’s going to be even better than last year. Made to Shred. That’s GAH-RON-TEED.

Was home for the holidays this past weekend. Back at the shop today swinging a hammer getting the ceiling ready for a much needed buttoning up and winter proofing. I.E. Operation Heat Retention! Here’s a short vid I took while at home on one of my favorite riding spots: South Mtn. in Emmaus, PA. This is where I really cut my teeth and was introduced to the word “technical”…