The other NY

My family and I are lucky to live in Seattle, but we're originally from rural NY.  Even after ten years of living in the Pacific Northwest, NY is still home.
   


Each summer my mother and father-in-law and my wife and our two kids hop in a flying tin can and head to the Adirondack mountains.  We spend some time up here on a nice lake, and then we head down to the southern part of the state to visit my side of the family.  One of the things I like most about coming back here each summer is what you see in the picture above - space.

With that space we do things like fish and swim and Jet Ski and get muddy on things with motors and wheels and tires that crash through the woods.  That's our son up there, and right after I snapped the picture his head exploded because he was so happy.  I can't think of anything better than being nine years old on a four wheeler or dirt bike with a full tank of gas.  Not sex, not great food, not a sandy beach, not nuthin'.

Mom had these wizards up on a shelf in the utility closet.  I completely forgot about them from when I was a kid in the 80's, but man, they took me back. 

 

Happiness is a stocked pond.

Weirdness is whatever this is.  If I took pictures of all of the crazy stuff like this we've seen over the past few weeks, you'd think I grew up in West Virginia.  Not that there's probably much difference, really.

Every once in a while...

Rarely does it happen, but every once in a while a modern country musician makes a song that's worth a damn. I believe this one fits the bill.

When I'm a little older

When I'm a little older, a bike built in a style similar to Cole's here is where I'm headed. No fancy pants fabrication, just pure style.

"Never waste the opportunities offered by a good crisis..."

Little sissy

For a place that's perceived to get alot of rain, the grass sure does get brown during the summer around here.

And yes, the sidecar tire did ride like a 2 x 4 due to the stiff sidewall. That said, it handled just fine.

A bit hipster maybe...

but pretty good. My taste in music is an awful lot like my taste in motorcycles and custom cars: I'm open to anything, as long as it's done real well.

Zen

For the Poon

Come visit soon Jon. Bring your friend Grant with you. I know, I know. I need to come down there. I will someday. Maybe on a motorcycle when I'm older and grayer.

Just a good song

From what seems like a time when a song could just be a good song.

Vard Forks

One very, very small step up from springer performance...except springers don't spray you with fork oil every time you hit a bump. The cool cast bronze trees and sliders made up for it. Sort of.

I've been busy

My apologies for not updating this thing lately. I'm just very, very busy. This is my friend Rolf's Model A. I'm writing a story on it now. This image makes me smile because it captures what a Hot Rod is meant to be - a real world cartoon.

Preach it Merle

Time to Move On

The '53 is up for sale. Need to sell it to buy a truck that won't kill me, and to free up funds to finish the '63 Pan.

I hope a 23 year old kid with skinny jeans, a floppy haircut, and a fat insurance check doesn't end up with it. Unless he's the type of kid who enjoys working on bikes more than riding them. Then it'd be cool.

Pajamas help in the creative process

The mosquitos were ruthless

Those pointy nosed fuckers.

Yes

"Daddy, is that a race track?"
Yes.

"Can we drive on it?"

Yes, let's do that.



"Daddy, are those raspberries?"
Yes.
"Can we pick them?"
Yes, let's pick them.

hatetoquitit

It's nice here at the camp.



The kids are having a ball.

I always thought he was the one...

I'd be building a bike with someday. I may be wrong.

Solid selection on that table

Song's good too. It's hard not to like Waylon Jennings, and although I'm not a big Hank Jr. fan, I do respect his place in the game. He could have just kept on doing what his daddy did (which was very, very good) but he headed his own direction; occasionally for better, but most often for worse. Still, he did it his way.

The city at night

Jake and I went out for a 10pm ride around the city the other night. Very little traffic, nice weather, and plenty of neat stuff to look at.