October flying by, bumpy road but keepin' on......

 Eiji's frame is done, just waiting for a couple parts to send it off to Osaka, Japan.
I am very critical of my own work, but have to say that this is one of the finest frames i have ever made. It just gets an A++ on every line. I'm very proud of it, it took me over 300 frames to get to this point.

 Did i mention that the orange with gold flake really works for me, too?
Below, pictured with the matching Vulture fork, really, really sweet.

 Some pics of the finish work on the frame - above, unfiled from the torch & dunktank, below during polishing.

 Fully polished seat tube junction below.

 And, fully polished frame before braze ons.

 Below, I am working on a 29er for Eric, who is 6'9" tall with a 40" inseam.
that's a big bike.

 I had to order 300' of tubing from True Temper to make this happen, but with longer travel 29ers and oversized head tubes I figured this was due. It also allows me to build bikes with an oversized 30.0mm seat post for bigger riders, longer travel forks, or if you just wish to have a stiffer ride or a bike with lots of seatpost extention. I also had to get 8' of 1 3/8" to make a custom seat tube sleeve, ovalised the down tube vertically at the headtube and laterally at the downtube to stiffen it up slightly and give me a nice brazing surface.

 Above, checking the straightness of the seat tube (a 24" seat tube on a 29er) and below are my sophisticated tools for ovalising tubing..........just add Wilton 5" jaw Machinist's vise.......

 Above, a lead packing hammer I found underneath a pipeline layed in the forest in 1884.
Below, what was inside - I just need a handle and it's going from working in the Coconino National Forest to building Coconino Cycles over 120 years later - cool.

 It's fall! I got out for a ride.......

 And, it was really hard. Put me flatbackin' for real.

 Off-road handcycling is the hardest thing you can do, or at least that I have done, and I have done some hard things........

 We had out 11th wedding anniversary! I love my beautiful wife more now then ever.
The best thing in my life, I could not think of life without her.

 Four days away from the grind - it was idylic.

 Cooking D. an anniversary dinner - trout tacos.

 Caught my 1st brown here that I remember - nice one, too - that's a 22" paddle blade.

 Spectacular colors.

 We got to see the Paria Plateau flash flood! I haven't seen this one go off in the 37yrs I have been coming up here - see below, it was HAMMERING. That would have destroyed a boat instantly.

 When the sun came out - same waterfall in both pics, we often sit in the shade where the bottom picture was taken - nice beach there now.

 That's a 1000 footer below - cool to see the path the water takes in it's voyage to the river.

 Doug & Ian Hall joined us for a couple days, good times/moist camp.

 D. and Doug both bringing in some nice trout, D. really killing it & Doug just learning.

 Fishing was good - really good.......

 Fish On!

 The Halls - good family fun, right there.

So long and thanks for all the fish!
Thanks, faithful readers - more soon, it was a hell of an October on many levels.
- Steve.