Photo Collage of Vintage Mountain Bikes restored for Riding, by Rideon

Some vintage mountain bikes or frames that I have restored over the past few years.  I enjoy working on bikes and continue to keep my hobby shop for tinkering on bikes I find which I consider to have some sort of value.  I often look for these older steel frame styles as they usually have braze on fittings for attaching racks and fenders for bike touring and commuting.
For more information regarding some of the details of the bikes shown here visit article at Bike Tourings.

My Touring Bike featured at The Loaded Touring Bike Photo Gallery

Photo created near Kemah along Texas Gulf Coast and feature at The Loaded Touring Bike Gallery Site

Photo displayed here was created on a very early evening near Kema along the Texas Gulf Coast.  I was hoping to get a good enough photo for The Loaded Touring Bike site as I have much respect for the folks who travel the world on two wheels and take time to share their photos.  What a cool site full of very interesting loaded touring bikes from all over the world.  If you would also like to share photos from your own bike travels visit The Loaded Touring Bikes Page on Facebook.

The Loaded Touring Bike Site is one of the most visited bike touring sites and has been providing a place for fellow bike touring folks to share scenic photos of their bikes since 2005.  Described as "A Tribute to the bicycle and its ability to take us far away".

Bike in photo is of an inexpensive Nashbar touring frame I built mostly from parts available from my bike shop after closing the business for good.  I was initially very disappointed with having to sell most all the inventory including my '83 Bianchi Steel Lugged Touring Bike complete with original front and rear racks, such a beauty!  I had converted the bike to a twenty four speed with integrated aero levers and mountain bike gearing.  When I sold that bike on ebay for close to a thousand dollars I promised to build myself a bike that I would like just as well if not better than the Bianchi and still make some money from the sale of the Bianchi.   It was a good, if not mandatory financial decision at the time and glad I was able to walk away with at least one bike.

Some highlights from the build are Velocity Dyad Wheelset, Ultegra bar end shifters, Schwalbe Marathon tires and Selle Anatomica saddle.  That was the first year of the Selle Anatomica Titanico and I love that saddle.  Avid Shorty cantilever brakes and FSA triple crankset have provided me with years of dependable use and I have been very pleased with the Nashbar touring frame's geometry.  It was hard on me to go through the loss of my bike shop and there were a lot of other folks disappointed to see the coffee commuter bike shop close.  Yes indeed they were some very difficult times so that what the bike represents for me is new beginnings, moving forward and carrying on.  Happy to see it featured at The Loaded Touring Bike Site.

For Product Review Information visit Bike Tourings

Fun Mountain Biking Retreat, A Cabin in the Mountains, by Rideon

I had moved from Suquamish, Washington to Pagosa Springs, Colorado in 1997 one year after having been in a car collision.  I was told I would require two years of physical therapy and would not be able to work hard physically (I was landscaping at the time) ever again.

Tree growing inside "mud room" and exits roof.

During the autumn of 2002 I purchased a small piece of property of 1.8 acres and finished building a cabin on it.  Mountain bike and walking trails make for some nice casual after dinner jaunts.
Partly to prove something to myself as I built the majority of it by myself with very little help. As the property is "off grid" that first winter I did not have electricity or running water. A year later I was able to install solar power enough to run lights, laptop and other small devices.  Getting water to the cabin was challenging at times as the road leading up to the property is very steep and I would often carry grocery items and drinking water on my bike up to the cabin.

Scenic walkway from road to cabin

I worked very hard to get the cabin buttoned up enough to ride out that first winter and had gathered just enough fire wood to stay warm for several months.  It was all very hard physical labor that challenged my mind and body on many levels as I felt the need to work through the night at times to get things done on time.  I am very grateful to have been able to accomplish such a silly task as this and love the property for what it is, a quaint, natural place still off the grid with propane cooking appliances, two buildings each with its own wood stove, wood storage, enough water storage for weeks of washing dishes, etc.  

Several years later finally got some finish work done.

 It wasn't until the spring of 2007 that I was able to get some much needed finish work done to the exterior including trim and stucco work.  A project that took so many years to complete should be well cared for and not just allowed to rot away.  Property building in harsh climates requires some maintenance particularly after a hard winter.  This cabin has held up to such severe winter snow storms that other buildings in the area were flattened.  I was concerned about going to visit after the spring melt off, that I might find the place crushed.  I was so pleased to see that the work I had done was good enough to still be standing after such a heavy storm.  I have since sold the property to a family member who is not taking very good care of the place at all and who doesn't seem to care about it much for anything other than to have a false sense of possession.  So, thought I would give my old cabin a blog about with some very nice photos to accompany it.

Sink drain lines empty to drainage trough and are less likely to freeze in winter, propane line exits wall for easy propane hook up.

Cabin Interior with propane appliances including refrigerator and stove top with oven.

Composting toilet with PVC pipe vent installed above large south facing glass window.

Scenic view of Broken Off Point from property

                 Although the property is off grid and seems to be remotely placed some conveniences include eight mile bike ride to town with a nice wide shoulder along highway.  A bus stop approximately one quarter mile from property has a bike carrier on the front for winter commutes.  At times I really miss the property and reminisce on the three winters I spent there while working at Pedal and Powder Bike Shop.  A blog article written in fond memory was hoping to rent out to cyclists interested in staying in a unique area but doesn't look like that will be happening any time soon.  For more information about Pagosa Springs, visit this informative blog article with links to mountain bike rental shops and other information to make your visit smooth and fun.
Have a nice day.
P.S. Lisa Piper of Natural Living provided a couple of the very nice photos here.  Visit her shop at http://www.shopnaturallving.com

Retro Style Images for Classic Mountain Touring Bike Build, by Rideon

Nothing definitive, calling it the "Rigamaroll"

                               This has been such a fun project so far I that I simply enjoy creating these images reminiscent of old fashioned risque bike ads from Europe.  Some of the risque style which weren't displayed here in the U. S. much.  One of the reasons for having this personal blog, not concerned about offending folks, this is my fun, personal blog.

A fun theme modeling this new bike build after the Rover Safety bike.  So many ideas were blended into this new build and it is so fun to ride that I wanted to share some images created along the way.

      
                       

Newly Built Mountain Bike for bike travel, touring and commuting, the "Rigamaroll", by Rideon

From the Light of Traditional Touring bikes....

Bike Tourings' blog and site continues to provide information and product reviews for folks interested in bike travel, bicycle touring and bicycle commuting.  Site includes links to free information and quality products from well reputed industry leaders and suppliers.

Recently we built up a new touring bike for a customer who only had an idea of what he wanted.  Sort of a beach cruiser mountain bike that he could efficiently ride around the countryside on.  Hmm.  With a mindset of traditional touring builds having developed a knack or understanding of combining quality, comfort and performance for long hours on the saddle I kind of had an idea of where to start.  With the proliferation of fat tire bikes on the market and an ongoing yet burgeoning interest with expedition, mountain bike touring style bikes we sketched out an idea. 

Approximately one year later and lots of fun experimenting with different ideas (some of which we will keep) we built what we have affectionately dubbed the "Rigamaroll".  Built with longevity, durability, comfort and quality performance I included Avid BB7 disc brake, Mountain Riser Comfort Bars, Kona Project 2 Fork and some pretty fat 2.35 inch tires.  This is a fun bike to ride in an area where bike lanes are not very common so going around and riding over typical urban obstacles not a problem with this fun commuter.
Links below provided for information regarding this bike build project.
Fork Installation, Tire Selection, Rear Rack Install, Nice Blend of Nature and Nurture

Nothing definitive calling it the Rigamaroll

Bike Tourings Work Shop goes off grid with Pacific Domes

While considering where and how to provide myself with a work shop we decided on going with a 16 foot diameter dome kit from Pacific Domes in Oregon. The family owned company has been providing these unique structures since 1972.  
I find it interesting how this dome came to me.  While working with a client in Colorado I realized we were having some communication issues.  Due to the fact she was from Spain at times her English was a bit odd and she did not like being corrected or criticized so I did my best to try and understand what she was trying to say sometimes.
A very eccentric sort she had purchased a dome kit in preparation for Y2K and wanted to be prepared for that crisis which of course never happened so this is why the dome kit I have is so old.  More about that later.  Years later the female client and her brother came to visit me in Colorado while I had since moved away I happened to be in town visiting my property there.  During our visit I learned she had been battling with dementia for several years.  She has since passed away and I was very sad to hear that news as she was a unique and authentic individual with a beautiful sense of humor.  
Her brother offered this dome kit to me for helping him get some things moved out of her storage shed.  However, we couldn't find the frame pieces.  We ordered the replacement parts when it came time to build with what we had, which was an outdated cover we were able to make fit without too much trouble.  
I designed the floor plan to be portable and measures sixteen feet square and then we built on top of the plywood I had painted with floor paint from the hardware store.  
  
While attending bike mechanic school I had an opportunity to meet with the owner and got a tour of their production facilities and some of the domes which were sold locally.  What a wonderful bunch of folks with positive attitudes and lots of energy.  I learned that Pacific Domes provides disaster relief, provides large domes for concerts and events and so many other uses for their structures.  It is a very interesting design and I have been enjoying the work space for approximately eighteen months now.  

I was concerned about there being enough space for new bike builds.  Photo showing enough room for bike boxes and bicycle in stand.  I did find it necessary to build a rolling tool cabinet that I can easily move around when necessary and use both sides of the tool board.

Our next task was to supply power to the work shop.  This was done with solar panels.  Larger panel came with its own job site solar generator from Sun Wize and came with a built in dc to ac power inverter as well as a built in charge controller and volt meter.  This is nice for plug and play hassle free power when panel is connected to generator. 

Our kit included round windows, screens, zipper roof and a wall screen for added ventilation when needed. For more information visit Pacific Domes, Inc.

Up until now it has been a very challenging and unique experience working in such a different shaped space as created by the geometric frame design based on Buckminster Fuller's ideas and findings.  I don't know about all that stuff but I am enjoying the work shop and grateful to have a place for me and Bubby to play.  

Visit Bike Tourings

Cheers!

Bike Alley photos from Bicycle friendly Flagstaff, AZ

Twenty years ago I was working on becoming a professional photographer and spent a lot of time with much older accomplished and successful photographers.  During some of our coffee table chats I used to put the idea out there of a "coffee table book" of picturesque alleys.  Well, I'm not as serious a photographer as I was back then though I very much enjoy biking around with a camera.  While visiting bicycle friendly Flagstaff, Arizona I decided to create my own bicycle tour of the city's bike friendly alley ways. I like the photo essay theme, check it out.  Fun stuff, enjoy, Cheers!  P.S.  I did this while the girls shopped for stuff to add to their junk pile.

Sign Reads  "CITY ALLEYS ARE LOADING ZONES FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPEDITIOUS LOADING AND UNLOADING OF GOODS, WARES AND MERCHANDISE TO AND FROM VEHICLES"

Bicycle touring alleys of Flagstaff, AZ  Visit biketourings.com

Bicycle touring alleys of Flagstaff, AZ  Visit biketourings.com

Bicycle touring alleys of Flagstaff, AZ  Visit biketourings.com

Bicycle touring alleys of Flagstaff, AZ  Visit biketourings.com