Legendary Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown about to have vanity plates installed on her Mercedes.

In this foto the late Helen Gurley Brown, who built Cosmopolitan into the most influential young women's magazine in the world, is about to have New York State COSMO vanity plate installed on her Mercedes-Benz.  HGB hardly needed more notoriety, but what fun we all had when the late Editor-in-Chief of Cosmo's dozens of international editions, was awarded yet another accolade in her long list of accomplishments. The "we," by the way, is the editorial and advertising staff of Cosmo at the time, including the not-so-handy publisher,  Seth Hoyt. Photo circa 1996.

Plenty of snowy diversions here to keep you from going to Florida.

Back yard 'boggining - fearless, fun, not too fancy. 

Lake Bde Maka Ska municipal kayaks hibernating safely and serenely.

Snowshoer and pet Choc Lab about to walk 18 on the Spring Hill course.

This guy even rides to work on his twin engine, battery powered skate board. He can do twenty MPH with those studded tires, and the battery might last 25 minutes in sub-zero  temps.  And it was below zero the day I met man and machine. 

"Beleza" means "beauty" in the Portuguese language.   I kept waiting for a gorgeous California lady to slip behind the wheel of this RAV, but she never showed up. 

I learned on my walk around Bde Maka Ska that the first home in Minneapolis was  built for missionaries who'd come to the area to convert American Indians to Christianity. Too much snow on the plaque to read the date of construction.

The City of Minneapolis has invested enthusiastically in educating walkers, bikers, X-country skiers, boaters, et al, on the history and origins of this remarkable body of water, formerly known as Lake Calhoun. 

"Ferg" in same hat he wore as a kid.

I'm pretty sure this is the Jamis that my oldest daughter rode when she was in college.

I was only too happy to get this bike for my most wonderful daughter when she was an undergrad. Over the years the Jamis has been passed around from family member to family member, and it's still going strong. Now, about that seat .....

I helped "One Street" develop World-Ready Shift Levers by kicking in to KickStarter.

Five or so years back I connected with Sue Knaup in Prescott, AZ. She told me that her "One Street" nonprofit hoped to raise $$ via Kick Starter to  create and distribute a special "technology" to permit anybody anywhere to make replacement components for bikes.   Sue's market was developing countries where bikes were the main means of transport, but repair shops w/spare parts were few and far between. 

The concept to be funded initially:  a small "back yard" blast furnace and mold in the shape of a shift lever.  Aluminum cans could be melted down by anyone, and molten metal poured into the mold, let sit and: voila! Repair problems solved. 

Prototypes were made, the concept was well received, but manufacturing glitches came up that prevented the fruition of the project. For my modest contribution Sue sent me a shifter that I keep on my desk as a reminder of how much need there is in the world, and how one smart, savvy, enthusiastic dreamer-entrepreneur can . make a difference. 

Likely the best bakery and coffee shop in Wayzata, MN.

Certainly the only one with a French accent!

Ken Weir explains Patek Phillipe collaboration with Weir Jewelers on occasion of the Dublin store's 150th year in business.

Ken's family started the business a century and a half ago.  To celebrate 150 years, current Dublin owners picked Swiss watch maker Patek Phillipe to design a special, limited edition chronograph. Price: a mere 90,000 euros!

Weir "Style" magazine tells the story. 

My friend here owns three vintage VW's, two "Bugs" and, now, this cherished van.

Looks like the sheepdog is right at home riding shotgun.

Pedaling around Bde Maka Ska today, with a stop at Perennial Cycle.

Dep't. of Parks and Rec "pop-up" office at Bde Maka Ska. Empty chair belongs to young employee who just got up to examine a boat being pulled from the former Lake Calhoun - making sure no Zebra Mussels were attached.

I met three divers in wetsuits.  One guy found a discarded Raleigh mountain bike on the lake bottom. This fellow holds a box-ful of junk he's collected. The lady in the background of this pic is a "lake-saver," though I'm not sure what she retrieved.

Our Parks and Rec man is back in his chair after examining the hull of an aluminum motor boat.  Don't think he discovered Zebra Mussels this time.

Strong anti-litter messages abound!

Hey, Bro: don't be changin' your motor oil lakeside. 

Here's the Raleigh one of the wet-suiters pulled from the lake. 

Pop-up office will be open until mid-October, then stored securely until Spring 2020. 

My visit to Perennial Cycle put me in touch with the new Dutch-made Urban Arrow electric-assist cargo bike. Luke here, tucked comfortably in the cargo "hold" of the Arrow, urged me to give 'er a try so he could take a pic, but I made him do it first. Clearly this man is having a riotous time!

Had to cross this puddle every time I rode along Long Lake this summer.

I've heard that the summer of 2019 was the rainiest on record here in Minnesota.  My Giant (w/o fenders) had to ford this flowing body of water every time I pedaled my fave route around Long Lake 

Pageviews all time history 216,623

Dear Poppy's Velo Ventures Friends:

216,623 Times the Blog has been visited by you all.  Thanks for finding reasons to come back again and again. As always, let me know what you think, like and want to see more of.

No sooner had I purchased my Long Haul Trucker from Tonka Cycle and Ski in Hopkins, than I sold it back to shop owner Steve.

This in-demand Surly was a beautiful machine, and a purchase I'd thought lots about making. After a couple of weeks of pedaling locally, I realized that the velo was not a good fit for me and my style of riding.  Back to Steve I went, explained my situation, swapped the Surly for a Giant "Expressway" foldy, and a wad of cash.  Steve and I both got a good deal. Nick, holding the banner behind us, nodded his approval.

Sort of a java scrapbook. Tasty, indeed.

We were walking the streets of Brooklyn not too many moons ago, and stumbled on to the worldwide headquarters of Grady's Cold Brew. I treated us all to yummy iced lattes and persuaded Mrs. Grady to permit me to pose next to her and the corporate cart so we could take a foto or two.   Grady's has caught on since then, and is in national distribution now.  To think WE were there at the dawn of the brew.

An unknown but curious Hennepin Avenue pedestrian in Minneapolis, peeked in the front window of Dunn Brothers just as I finished my cappuccino. I was ready with my iPhone 8+. And decided post-pic to mess around with the software, coming up with a sepia version of the unknown lady in the Jackie O sunglasses.

My good buddy here a coffee drinker from way back, joined me not long ago at Dave's along Route 1 in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Hole in the Wall in the North Beach section of San Francisco. The barista did the first pour-over I'd ever tasted.

A young barista pours me an iced latte at the New Moon Cafe in Aiken, South Carolina. Aiken is the polo capital of the United States, and when the tony spectator crowd isn't quaffing champagne, they head to New Moon for a superior cuppa joe.

Nancy and I were exploring Palm Desert, California, and came across this modest but very welcoming coffee joint. See the tip jar? We added a couple of dollar bills to make it more appealing to the pouring staff. 

When Workhorse Cafe in St. Paul celebrated its first birthday I happened to be there, thirsty for an iced latte, camera in hand. The joe is sublime, while the baked goods case overflows with exquisite pastries that call out to customers: "eat me." 

Holy Cow Coffee &Tea is the toast of Westport, Connecticut.  My young friends took this shot when we were visiting together recently.

Baristas take a silly break.  

I think you can pick your
beans by country of
origin.

No further explanation necessary.

Great clipper Emily from Great Clips.

On my way to get a haircut at Great Clips.  Hope Emily is on duty: she works magic on thinning pates like mine. Razor cut, no tatts. 

My friend Wick sent these shots of the "Quest" Velo-Car. This is definitely NOT an anonymous vehicle!

You can just imagine this two-wheeler healing over as pedaler takes the turn at speed.

Capable of speeds up to 45 kph, I imagine that the velo car must weigh less than 25 kilos.

Looks a little like a recumbent based on position of driver in this pic. Carbon shell is a piece of art.

Incredulous patron, Maschinen German-made typewriters, Nina's Coffee House, St. Paul, MN.

J was showing me around St. Paul the other day, suggested we stop at Nina's for a sandwich and ice lattes.  While waiting for the order to come up we took in the unique mural art on Nina's wall. We'd never seen a collaboration like this between photog and artist. German-made desk typewriters from the early '40's, in all their mechanical precision and glory.  As the Brits like to say: we were gobsmacked. The young woman having coffee at her table, was as slack-jawed as we were. Incredulous.

JUSTIN HEDSTROM took the Maschinen fotos in Mitte, the central district of Berlin, in 2008..