higher bars, lower gears, fatter tires...I'm NOT getting older, I just want more comfort

Dear Carl, I wish I could think of something profound to say to you; something about hoping for half your dignity when my time comes, or maybe casting a shadow half as long,
but really,
today,
I just wish I could talk to you

I am aware that this looks an awful lot like a 9th grade shop project; however it is the heart and soul of the soon, almost, very near, amazing technicolor textile traveling trunkshow tour, in a van (coming to a town near you). It will allow us to pack the van with rugs, to the roof, and still be able to extract the bikes without having to unpack.

pappa noel brought some studded tires. in the past, i have taken some hard spills on the snow packed gravel roads, so it takes awhile to really believe that the studs will keep one upright. however, once one leaps that hurdle, they are really a blast!

I'm slowly picking away at bike projects. the headset on my old raleigh is nearly 35 years old and it is worn enough that there is both indexing and shimmy. often times this is a job i leave for professionals, but i knew there would be some adaptations along the way so i used my crude instruments and indeed ended up with parts from 3 different headsets in order to achieve what i was looking for. i'll have to wait for spring, or at least an extended warm spell, before i can really try it out.

i'm building wheels for my touring bike. this is the rear. it came out really nicely