Stay-Cation 2010 Update

With yesterday being a rest day for the Tour De France, I didn't have anything keeping me from heading out for an easy morning ride. My bike seems to automatically find its way to Starbucks. An Iced chai latte or an iced coffee is perfect in this heat. Actually anything with ice in it is acceptable.

I came upon this beauty as I searched for a spot to lock up my bike. I couldn't find a good angle to photograph it from. I believe it's a Raleigh Sports . The decals are faded and difficult to read.

The cranks have been replaced but other than the saddle, grips, and tires, it appears to be mostly original.

Heading back home along the Trinity Trail I encountered a slight detour. The supervisor in the hi-vis vest wasn't very happy with me taking photos of the construction site. He asked my why I was taking picture, so I asked him what he was afraid of (I kind of knew what he was worried about, I just wanted to make him say it). He told me that everytime somebody takes pictures of his work sight he ends up getting complaints from his boss. He had just been griped at by a women who was upset that the detour was not been paved. The poor thing had to walk her bike through the gravel. After I convinced him that I had no intention of complaining we had a nice conversation about all of the construction taking place just north of the trail west of the Hulen bridge. He believes that the area north of the trail is going to be a large city park. I had heard that it was going to be filled with shops. I'll have to check Fortworthology to find out for sure.

Ahhh, nature. This is why I choose to ride the trail.

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So you're probably wondering what has RTP been doing when not on the bike? Well, I'll tell you. I've been catching up on the first three seasons of Mad Men. The fourth season premiere is this Sunday. The show is much better than I thought it would be. Me and my wife usually don't start watching a series until it has been on for a while and we've read good reviews. We like renting the DVDs and catching up all at once.

Movies viewed while on stay-cation:

Two Lane Blacktop-After reading about it on The Selvedge Yard I had to watch it. It's a little slow but the cars are awesome! You can watch the entire movie onYoutube. The 55 Chevy in this movie is the same one that Han Solo was driving in American Graffiti (another good movie you can watch on Youtube).

Topaz-It's a cold war thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The story is interesting but in my opinion it didn't strike me as one of his better movies. It was kind of like he was going through the motions. This would probably be a good candidate for a remake.

Three Days of the Condor- It's an excellent thriller that I've seen a million times. It's now out on Blu-ray.

Max Von Sydow is a cool dude.

Random Stuff 02-24-10

Loop-Frame Love: I found this blog while searching Google images for a saddlebag sewing pattern. A photo of a crisp white vinyl saddlebag popped up. I clicked on it and ended up on this nice little blog from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada that celebrates the loop-frame style of ladies bicycles. There are photos of minor restorations in progress. Just the kind of stuff I like.

This is the photo that lured me to this blog.

This 1966 Philips belongs to one of the three authors. I think these old single speed bikes are under appreciated.

Whiskey Stones: This is an interesting idea. Soapstone cubes that you use in place of ice to keep your drink from getting watered down. Since the icemaker in our fridge bit the dust sometime ago this appeals to me.

I'm not much of a whiskey drinker but I think these would work just as well in my Dr. Pepper.

Welcome to the Island of Misfit Bicycles: I don't remember how I found this one but I've been following it for a few months. Lots of photos of Luxor headlamps and other nice stuff.

The author's late 40's to early 50's Galmozzi. This bike is beautiful, even in its current unrestored condition.

Lefol mudguards with a Luxor headlamp

1410 Oakwood: I followed a link from the blog above to 1410 Oakwood. I've only been following this blog for a couple of days but so far it looks pretty interesting. Lots of nice bike photos including the author's own beautifully restored McLean roadbike.

The Selvedge Yard: I'm sure this is an extremely popular blog but its new to me. I found it after clicking on a link from 1410 Oakwood. I've already wasted a lot of time here checking out the great themed collections of photos of vintage cars, celebrities, and other odds and ends.

Seen on The Selvedge Yard. Probably the most awesome photo ever taken.

Old School Stationers: These are letter pressed cards and wall prints from a series called Camping Circa 1960's. The designs are hand drawn, hand separated, and then printed on a letterpress. Very cool! Check out their Etsy shop.

Neo-Metro: Our master bathroom is tiny with absolutely no room for storage. I was watching House Hunters International Tokyo with my wife the other night, it is one of the only shows on HGTV that I'll admit to liking, when I noticed a space saving toilet, sink combo in one of the tiny apartments being considered for purchase. This combo toilet, sink would work perfectly for us. I wasn't sure if they even sold these in this country. Sure enough, there aren't many choices but you can find them. Neo-Metro offers the coolest one in my opinion.

I like this one. The Neo-Comby $5,398.00