The Hickey

Yeah, the bike is called The Hickey...

I make no bones about this.

That is my name for it.

It is kinda ugly and rather embarrassing.

At the same time, it is fun...

That is the whole point, right?

Well, the fun part at least...

I would like to say that there

was thinking about cool old bike pictures, Easy Rider or something, as I gathered parts.

It would be sweet to say there is a whole lot of thinking about style and shit, that went into this.

But the embarrassing part would follow that...

Is the paint some reference to Lee Marvin's shirt in the Wild unch, or Jack Nicholson's get up in Rebel Rousers?

Maybe something about the cool stuff going on in Japan?

Nope...

I just thought it would look cool.

I was thinking of a Duane Peters skateboard deck...

And knew this oddness would help hide

my f'd up removal of factory decals.

Did I hope it would look like a club bike (meaning some Angel's bike from the 60's).

Maybe...

But not in some planned way...

All of that stuff has been floating in my head, but it has been for years.

I would like to think that my "Cool" senses are pretty fucking refined, when it comes to bikes and such...

No, I just put together a cheap ass bike.

I ordered parts, not thinking about some big picture shit, but rather because they were cheap and I liked 'em or knew I could make them work...

Or both.

I used stock parts. I cut them up and drilled holes in them, I cut shit down, took crap off and generally focused on making things as minimal as allowed by law...

What I couldn't loose I tried to make better, lighter, more cool.

I could have done more...

There is still more to do, even.

But I built a bike to deal with my needs, to deal with the shit I will subject it to...

It will go two-up, it will hop curbs, it will take curves and it will haul ass.

So, here it is...

No more waiting for some glimpse at my vision.

There never was a concise vision.

That is the big secret, on this project.

I embraced the random, rather than waiting for years for just the right bits.

Hell, it wouldn't even be a Sporty, otherwise.

I picked up parts and things without seeing them, figuring I could make things work.

I allowed the weirdness and the beer to make shit come together...

Just a need and some ideas.

Some random parts and some tools.

Just a plan for some base level, street ripping shit.

Something that will carry me and KVC, keep me from getting run over and split a few lanes...

A business machine.

Will there be more (or less) to this thing, later on?

Probably...

But this will get some shit done, right now.

That is the score, with The Hickey...

It is fun and will get shit done.

I might be embarrassed when you notice it, but it is pretty fun having it.

Dogbots

Just so you know, I am still planning on taking over the world...

Having a day job, in order to finance the whole deal - moon bases, underground monorails and all of the associated stuff you need really cuts into my time in the lab.

Because I still insist upon having an army of terrifying baboonbots, which will do my bidding...

Henchman kind of stuff.

It is really hard to find reliable henchmen.

So I keep developing these cyborg/baboon things...

Anyway, I stumbled across this book at the evil-villain-set-on-dominating-the-world-book-store.

It is in Russian, so I guess I need to translate the damned thing...

Seems to have some interesting concepts, however.

Pretty excited to learn about somebody else's take on how you build scary robot/animal apocalypse machines...

Enjoy you day!

Sunday Drive

I'll race you to the bend in the road.

New Jersey?

I have no idea what these Policeman guys are rapping about, but judging from the video I would guess it has something to do with Jersey

Funny Car Friday

I have mentioned before that I dig Corvettes...

And that I especially dig Corvettes chopped up for the sake of racing.

It's cool...and Vette guys take themselves way too seriously.

This is some amazing fiberglass hackery, right here.

This Mercury

This Mercury, by Rudy, fucking rules.

That Ford, by Cole, is also awesome.

This picture is like some double comet, lunar, solar Martian eclipse, or something, only you don't have to look at it through a hole poked in cardboard.

Shit in the universe doesn't line up like this very often, is what I am getting at...

When it does, you better stop to look at it.

You can tell your grandkid's about it...

(I think I heard that Paul is putting the Mercury on the market, if you really want it.)

The West is Best

237x

Have I mentioned that I have some family that does this sort of thing?

For a few generations now...

I wanna try to catch up with them at one of the East Coast stops on their race schedule, this summer.

Watching races is more fun when you've got somebody to root for.

Death Metal

Yeah, I am going all in on the easy listening...

It Is a Sign

Snowflakes

Seriously...

You should look at this bike again.

It rules.

Sunday Drive

Fucking follow that guy.

He must know the way...

Masks

I think I need to get one of those masks.

Fueler Friday

Tell me you don't want this view, at least once in your life...

Portrait

What?

It was cold out...

And I like to support local artists.

Theme Park Thursday

I could totally go for some sweltering, sunny day roller coaster riding type shit right now...

Hot dogs, slushy sodas, standing in lines. The whole deal...

Funny

I was just thinking of you, too...

Style Points

A mountain of style points, right here.

My Valentine for You

Sunday Drive

I am pretty sure this is the way...

Big News

Big enough for you, at least...

Feeling Cool?

You just keep telling yourself that...

Maybe it will come true.

Funny Car Friday

What is it, uh...

Funny Isetta?

Take this as proof that the winters are too long in Seattle...

Snowflakes

I am really trying to be down with all this winter shit...

Really, I am.

Honestly, these are about the only snowflakes I like, however.

Shoe Designers

I know a few folks who design shoes.

They are nice people and I think they're great...

Intelligent, witty, creative for the most part.

They really get into the problem/solution part of design.

Man, a trip sporty shoe shopping with KVC really left me thinking...

Are they just fucking with us at this point?

I mean, that spring shoe thing, that was a joke, right?

That was the start of it.

And then those shoes shaped like a rocking chair on the bottom. Right, funny.

This most recent trip revealed a new trend of expansion foam formed into crazy shapes.

Come on...

That doesn't seem like you are even really trying. That was a Friday idea, right?

Those fucking foot gloves? Now, that is pretty funny...

Better than the rubber things that get glued on the bottom of peoples feet, I think.

Of course selling a scrap of rubber that people glue onto their feet is really good.

Selling minimal shoes to the barefoot running crowd speaks to some extra wacky logic on both the design and consumer side, I guess

Shoe designers, you are just messing with us at this point...

Right?

Status Update

If found, please return.

Two Wheels Tuesday

Couples that surf together, stay together.

This Hat

Hey...

Does this hat make my ears look big?

Sunday Drive

Pick a point on the horizon...

Then go to it.

Easy

One of the few highlights to my week was remembering that KEXP broadcasts in NY, while waiting forever to get through the Holland Tunnel.

Every trip to that rotten apple leaves one thought in my head, it seems..."Somebody owes me lunch."

At least I got a little Seattle fix, sitting in traffic...

__________ Friday

Sorry, I am just not in the mood...

Back and Forth

That is the schedule.

What I Want

Me...

I want more.

(Referencing this, not being a greedy douche.)

I Have to Stop Him

The Northwest

Sometimes, I miss the Pacific Northwest...

Thinking

Sometimes, I just want to think.