Been traveling quite a bit and it’s cold. Picked up this scarf at F.S.C. and the gloves at Martin Patrick. These two things have kept me warm and cozy. Dents, since 1777. Makes me feel like I’m at home in front of the Jøtul.

as a cowboy sidled up to the town watering hole, he could easily determine who would be sitting inside at the bar from the horses hitched out front. a chestnut pinto might mean surly jebediah, and his attendant piss and vinegar; the white and black dapple-spotted appaloosa could mean a chance visit from thaddeus, freshly descended from the front range after the season spent trapping in the high-country…

our parents had the unmistakably unique works of the hot-rod and custom car culture through which to see if a particular friend were inside the bowling alley or diner.

the manner and style in which one sets up his bike means that a calling card as unique and individual as the person who rides it, announces his presence wherever he may u-lock it in town. and, perhaps few worlds move faster than that of the fixed gear. these photos are a literal and figural snapshot of a moment in time. as i look at them it’s possible to recall every nuance in character of bike and rider alike –i’ve spent many, many miles with all of them. the choice of bar type, foot retention and rim all mark a moment in time in the evolution of these bikes, and the life of the rider who rode them. indeed, few of the bikes may still be on the street, having since been retired, sold, or otherwise gone missing; and in the 2 years since these photos were taken in tokyo, each rider may have built a replacement radically different, or much the same as those you see here.

as the year winds down, it’s great to look at this slice of life and think to of each of my friends –where they are, what bike they are riding and how their rides have been.

On its face, winter riding in Northern New England can seem like an unremittingly sucky experience. Slushy roads interrupted only by sub-arctic cold snaps that force even the toughest riders onto their trainers. But winter riding offers just enough on the plus side of the ledger to make it fun. You get to see deep into the woods like no other time of year; you can hone your ice riding skills on any given road ride; and, you get to see people engaging in winter activities that make only marginally more sense than riding. Witness: ice fishing in Vermont. About 30 seconds after I met Ben at the local ice fishing spot he caught a 6-pound large mouth bass which he said was going to make a great dinner. Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve ever brought dinner home from a ride….maybe ice fishing does make sense. And then there’s the beer.

While most of the country seems to be frozen, the climate in Key West is pretty tropical. A ride with touring bikes from West Palm Beach, through Miami to Key West for a few days. An amazing ferry ride to Ft. Myers Beach, and then back across Florida to the starting point. Not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks on the bike.

We’ve added our cycling cap to the store in lightweight waxed cotton and chambray.

Is a great champion.

Joop Zijlaard is a 29-time Dutch derny champ. One might not naturally put this man and bike racing together in the same sentence, but if you’re the rider behind Joop, consider yourself blessed.

Breakfast at Balthazar with Simon and Slate. A perfect way to take in the day talking bicycles, business and life through the eyes of Rapha.

Meeting with Martin at Cone Denim.

Then we had beers with Kyle at DQM.

Holy SBs

Unauthorized freshness.

Dinner at Shanghai Cafe, scooped up Kirk Bray, birthday party for Ricky Saiz and night-ender at Max Fish.

It was a long van ride from Kalispell up to St. Marys. And it would have seemed still longer had we not had Gary Fisher along for the ride. What started as small talk eventually turned into a demi-lecture on the history of NorCal bike racing in the late-’60s to early-’70s. Illustrated with a catalog of relevant dog eared photos pulled from a leather briefcase. If any of us wondered why he had all the pictures with him, we were afraid to ask. Along the way we stopped for a beer but no bars were open. Gary was not happy about that. But I took his picture anyway. He likes getting his picture taken. Really likes it.

Another smart thing coming out of MIT.

More info here.