Bikers for Christ, Ohio Puppy Store, $10. Barber, Burro Jim Motel.

This helmet sort of says where the owner-biker is coming from.  Lots of messages and opinions, causes and loyalties. Saw this one in Arizona a year or two ago.
 This shot was taken in Ohio, of course.  Not sure that I remember where.  I'm a native Buckeye, from Chillicothe in south central Ohio.  Puppy Mills were not welcome in my home town, at least when I was growing up there.

Nash Rambler? Anyone recognize the body style, remember the vintage?

You can get a damned good haircut "Out Wickenburg Way" and the price is a reasonable ten bucks!  After my first trim there I pulled a five spot out of my wallet, handed it to my lady barber and she gave it back, saying I'd overpaid.  When I told her it was a tip she couldn't quite believe her good fortune, and though she accepted the tip, she was never comfortable receiving a 50% bump on the cut.  

E-Motion is center of velo attention in Luck, Wisconsin.

Our Colorado pals Ed and Annie hosted us for lunch yesterday at a family cabin in western WI.  There was a classy e-bike in the garage, and I insisted that the Missus pose with hubby nearby.  Ed told me that bike was purchased second-hand, for a great price, and had barely been ridden before Annie took to it like a duck to water.  Annie showed me the controls, I punched in "sport" mode, and rode like the wind, howling at the top of my voice.  What a trip.

On our way to Luck MY missus and I stopped in Lindstrom, MN for a photo op.  Check the wiener on top of the building in the background.  The business is a meat market (wiener: get it?) and we couldn't help taking a pic or two.  A lady working in an office building about where I'm standing came out to say something like:  "So many people passing through Lindstrom stop and take a pic of the wiener."  And here WE thought we were the first and only ones.  That's cool.

Back in the garage for a moment, from whence came the E-Motion, I spotted a formidable collection of personal flotation vests, suggesting that the water skiing on Bone Lake is, well, itself formidable. 

Sunrise Cyclery - Very satisfying velo gear shopping experience.

In search of a more comfortable saddle for my Giant Foldy I headed last week to Sunrise Cyclery, confident I'd find what I was looking for.  I hadn't been to their "new" location -- 29th between Nicollet and Blaisdell -- since Jamie and crew moved the shop four years ago.

It was all I could do to keep my shopping to the seat!  Mouth watering. More damned bikes than I had ever seen filled the shop -- hardly any space to walk.  Bikes of every vintage, make, country of origin, but most of them in good shape.  Business is pretty good the owner says, so plenty of locals are content to buy gently used velos than trade at the new bike stores.

The seat remains uninstalled, though I plan to remedy that tomorrow.  I leaned from Jamie that all seat rails are one standard size, so I shouldn't have a problem getting my new saddle to fit right.

PS - the seat cost $10.00.  Seems more than fair, but we'll know for sure when I've put in ten miles or so and my tender butt is completely comfortable!

Some signs of the Times this Summer.

Check cashing, freight forwarding, travel planning, reservations for tickets to the Galapagos Islands now  being handled on East Lake Street.

Window of the letterpress shop on 26th Street just west of Lyndale in Minneapolis. 

Waiting for the Strib to arrive in a very funky mailbox.

Bridge Coffee - the new Java Joint in Delano, MN. It's a Family Affair, and they brew darned tasty coffee, too.

Bridge Coffee has been up and running since May on Bridge Ave. East in Delano, MN.  And while conventional wisdom says summer is a slow time of year, owner and president David Eidahl reports that his business is booming.

Son Christian and associate "J.T." round out the team. 

Cushions on the shop chairs are covered in authentic coffee bean shipping bags.  Dave's wife noticed a stack of the bags when she and Dave visited the roaster.

Suggested Mrs. Eidahl:  let's cover the seats in Bridge Coffee with the bags. They'll look great and provide a unique touch. And so they do.

I ordered an iced latte, and was not disappointed.  Coffee roast was smooth and yummy, with just the right amont of milk.  I'll definitely go back for more.

Glow-in-the-dark bicycles now available with reflective coat that never fades.

With Thanks to British "Dail Mail" Web Site for Exciting Velo News. 

 The bike uses a technique similar to cat's eyes to make the frame shine  A fully-customised bicycle will set you back around £841.54 ($1,098)

Reflective paint ensures the ride is always seen, from up to 1000ft away   Many thousands of transparent spheres reflect light back to its source

One of top ten days of summer, out on the Giant Foldy, pedaling around the river, enjoying velo adventures, making plenty of new friends,.

Help Wanted volunteer sign posted on bulletin board at Army Corp of Engineers visitors' center near Stone Arch Bridge. Able bodied men and women needed to "help build the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area."  

Dreaming of Huck Finn days do you think?

Yielding right-of-way to a Segway Tour near Island Inn.

Just across the Hennepin Avenue Bridge workmen disassemble the classic neon sign that drew customers by the thousands to Nye's landmark bar + grill. I was told that neon gas is extracted, captured and reused; glass tubing goes to a recycler and a million different possbilities are the result.

Three stories up in U. S. Army Corp of Engineers visitors' tower a family has more damned fun than you can imagine. The young man straining to hold the "fish" is actually hefting 25 lbs. of river sand in something that looks like a local fish.  As I took this foto three other people with cameras suddenly appeared behind me -- all of us unknown to the others, but each of us lensmen aware of the possibilities.

The National River and Recreation Area could NEVER function as well as it does without the strong commitment of a cadre of volunteers. My new best freind Rita, here, offered to watch my Giant Expressway bike while I visited the observation tower.  Nice lady, that Rita.  Hope you meet her some day.

Riding around town on my foldy is great exercise, and invariably leads to adventure.  The journey also works up an appetite, and we slaked it with a massive Cobb salad made with the best, freshest, tastiest ingedients you can imagine.  Hats off to French meadow bistro on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

Every Summer Wet Paint in St. Paul hosts Post Card Artists Competition.

Take a peek at these fotos from the front window of Wet Paint on Grand Ave. in St. Paul.  You'll see imaginative, amusing work:  water colors, collage, decoupage, pen and ink drawings. 

I saw just the beginning of the show that will be"hung" this week.  And while I didn't learn the rules of the road, my suspicion is that artists, throughout the year, create and send notable post cards from their peregrinations. Seattle Market being one such destination. 

Folks at Wet Paint save and display the best -- there may be a prize structure, or simply an opportunity to give pleasure to passers-by and store customers. I like the car from Sawlty Dog Salloon in Homer, Alaska.

  Check it out yourself; let me know which one (s) you like best.

You'll likely NEVER see a more exquisitely restored Plymouth Woody Wagon.

1941 Plymouth Woody Wagon, chilling in a parking lot in Wayzata, MN, just waiting for me to happen by with my iPhone and start snapping pictures.  I mean:  this restoration, frame up for sure, took two years to accomplish.  I can only imagine how many $$$ were involved, how much pleasure this baby brings its proud owner.

Barrett-Jackson auctioned off a '41 Woody at the Scottsdale show this year.  Car brought $110,000 though you can buy likely lesser-quality versions between $55 -65,000. 

Now here's a hood ornament from the old school.  Three sailing ships, the old Plymouth logo:  how understated and exquisite, a perfect reminder of an era of grandeur.  Damn, that branding is primo, don't you think?

Proud product of the Chrysler Corp., U.S.A.   How much work went into just this one element of the classic 1941 resto?

"Picnic Wonderland" on Lake Minnetonka, indeed.  Those were the days.  Thanks, Mr. Plymouth owner, for restoring this beauty, giving us the chance to relive (vicariously) those most wonderful summer days of yore.

When you could fill your tank with regular for under four bucks.

A fading green gas pump, looking a lot like an artist's pallette, still stands at Kelley + Kelley nurseries in Long Lake. The last time this handle was cranked gas was 25-cents per gallon. 

Mr. Kelley might have removed this icon from his yard, but it remains, looking more beautiful than ever. There's only a single grade of gas available: regular leaded. No high test, no Ethanol, no detergent, no STP.


 



Flowers at the nursery have grown up around the pump.  Lots of green to be seen. 

Pump on lock-down.  Credit cards not accepted.  Attendant not on Duty. 

1948 Frazer rusts away in a junk lot in Wickenburg, AZ.

Do you remember these auto 'badges' from the 40's and 50's?

Frazer. Henry J. Kaiser Frazer.  Frazer Darren. 

These were successful, powerful brands in their day. Manufactured in Michigan, advertised in leading magazines like Life and Look, and sold through a national dealer network, they fed a voracious auto appetite just after the War.

Tastes changed quickly back then. Competition was ruthless. The Frazer "triad" lost its footing.  Long off-sale and forgotten now, some like this one sit a-rusting in Arizona junk yards.

An occasional Frazer has been restored, but likely occupies a secondary spot in a collector's treasure trove.

The FRASR 48 to your right was discovered on-line.  I believe it's still for sale.  Price was recently reduced to $16,000.  Car looks pretty sweet in this picture. Compare the blue trunk deck with the rusted red above.

One can only imagine if the "rusted red" had received the TLC that Big Blue enjoyed.

One of my favorite San Fran Velo Vistas. California Street as you can Tell.

Blue Bottle Coffee sign in front window, just behind the velosters, assures that this java joint on California Street has earned its hipness cred.  I met the guys inside, sitting at a round table with friends, enjoying, well, I'm guessing Blue Bottle.   I followed them out to their bikes, asked if I might take a foto for the Poppy Blog, and smiles went ear to ear immediately. 

Why women are superior to men. Something to think about as you pedal along today.

Forgot to Mention Custom Bikes at MIA Bike Nite on 7/21/16

Crazy Cat Tandem greeted attendees at MIA Bike Nite last week.  Can you even imagine the TLC, the hours, paint, papier mache skills, imagination involved in creating this Crazy Cat Velo? Wish there had been a "docent" nearby to fill in the details.  What a work of art.  Meowwwwww.

MIA staffers help attendees cool off at Annual 3rd Thursday Bike Nite.

Life savers.  That's what we call these young MIA staffers.  Last night in the courtyard at the Annual Bike Night festival, little bottles of chilled H2O goodness were "on the house."  And by the looks of the smiles on theses faces, our MIA hosts were only to happy to deliver the chill.

The  Cycling Museum of Minnesota brought a classic "Penny Farthing" two wheeler to Bike Nite, invited youngsters of all ages to hop aboard, enjoy the "view from the top."   This little veloster could almost reach the pedals.  Next year: for sure.

Techs and all-round good folks from The Hub Bike Co-op were plenty busy last night. Bike Nite attendees pedaling in were invited to have their velos checked out, tightened and tuned where necessary, and with a a few pointers from the Hubsters, sent safely on their way.  

I'm imagining that visitors to the Shinola tent at bike nite were hoping there'd be some swag to take home to condos in Uptown. I looked on from a comfortable distance, a little concerned that my wallet would open mysteriously, my AMEX card pop out under its own steam, and that I'd end up driving the KIA back to Long lake with a shiny new Shinola in the way back. Shinola has the most gorgeous accessories, never mind the bikes -- which everyone seems to want to own.