i'm here - i've just been very busy {in case you thought i moved to Baja and didn't tell anyone}

Jim R. your road bike is coming right along! the Kaisei tubing is SWEET and a joy to work with. straight, nice butting, light, and cool shapes on the stays. i substituted the head tube for a prestige one that was slightly thicker as it was pretty long, and i used a True Temper seat tube to allow for a 27.2 seat post instead of the 27.0 the Kaisei used. check out the dropouts - i carved them down from a set of Paragon MTB disc drops.

insuring that the rim is centered between the stays.

dropouts are parallel.

seat tube is off by *this much* a few thou of an inch. easily set. way straighter then a human!

Head tube is spot-on.

ditto on the axle centerline.

Simon's new one speed - more on that in the next post!

snuck in a quick two hour ride in Sedona yesterday, i needed to get out as i had not gotten any exercise since paddling in Baja. we live almost as far south in Flagstaff as you can and still be in the same zip code - so it's easy for us to leave the snow and drive the 30-min. to Sedona and do our errands and sneak a quick ride.

the dogs looking on in amazement as i actually clean a really tight set of switchbacks. i had to do a multi-point turn and set the perfectly placed little ramp-rock you can see.........

the critters enjoying a dip!

the manzanitas are blooming. quite a nice little bell flower for such a tough, mean bush!

yep, found another partial arrowhead. this is all that's left upon impact, usually. the tips implode upon being shot and lost countless years ago.............Steve.

BAJA!!!!! * pictures in NO resemblance of order!*

a journey to the sea of cortez!

Alphonsina's hotel/resturaunt/bar/landmark/outpost. paradise!

denise enjoying an octopus cocktail {waaayyy more delicious then it sounds!!} and shrimp tacos.

yet another mind-blowing sunrise over the sea of cortez!

Antonio, the owner/boss/cook/all around El Jefe of Alphinsina's, where we spent a week. Alphonsina's is at the end of a seven hour dirt road drive, has no locks, excellent cooking, cold drinks, sits right on the water, and has been a Baja landmark for sixty years. go now!

Isla Willard - it's connected at low tide to the sand spit Alphonsina's sits on. the sea kayaking was sublime.

the tools of the trade.

a corvina and a cabrilla. fishing was great!

Denise with a corvina. she caught some nice fish!

Sally watching birds in the bouganvillas. fascinating!

Salvador doing his morning sweeping. he's been in Gonzaga bay for 60 of his 68 years.

a shrimper in the morning sun.

us with all our new Oregon friends! we caught a huge bunch of fish and the staff cooked them all up for free. they didn't want anything.

NICE water conditions!

a whole cooler full of fish we caught one day. pompano, cabrilla, a flounder and a sierra. we made ceviche outta the whole batch.

a nice flounder Denise caught.

cool starfish.

sunset over Gonzaga bay.

a German bike bike tourist. he wouldn't take water or food, but he accepted two modelos.

looking back on Gonzaga bay.

yet another sucky sunrise.

Denise enduring a high stress situation..........

eggs come by the hatfull...

shrimp, or plate of shrimp.......

express delivery of shrimp direct from the source.

the sandspit from Alphonsina's to Isla Willard.

the road to Gonzaga bay from Puertocitos. 6-7 hours each way. sure weeds out the folks!

the Chevy turned 260,000 miles on the trip! the Mexicans saw it for the nice truck it is. they can fix these down there.

top-o-the-hill.

Denise during a driving break. that's some desolate country!

just about my favourite kinda stuff.

oooooohhhhhhh yeah!

drugs, anyone?

mid-feb. update - this will have to do for awhile, i'm outta here for two weeks!

Irfan's frame all ready to go in the box! following is some pics of the final frame prep sequences.....

head badge installed....

tapping the head badge bolts - a sketchy thing to have to do as a last operation!

chasing the derailleur threads.

a detail shot of all the cool stuff going on in the seat tube area.

all threads are tapped and a stainless steel bolt and washer are inserted.

all the tolerances check out great!

facing the surfaces of the bottom bracket shell to ensure that the bearings spin flush and enjoy a long life.

chasing the bottom bracket threads........the hole in the shell is to allow water to drain from the frame. all the tubes vent from each other to the outside. water WILL get in - you have to allow for it to escape.

facing and chasing the head tube.....

reaming the seat tube. after this step it is polished with a flex hone for a smooooth fit.

Irfan's frame pre-paint. the note on the top tube is incorrect, there are actually 38 pieces in the frame!

Jim R's kaisei tubed road bike in it's conception. check out the customised rear dropouts!

i was not able to complete Jim's bike before I had to leave for Baja, so i brazed the front triangle together. this will give me a clean slate to start from when i return on the 19th.

Jim's front triangle of his Kaisei tubed road bike.

Pete C. sent me this pic of him shredding in Marin.

and Mary sent me this nice beach shot of her new micro-coconino. sweet! that is one cool bike. dedicated Rohloff 14 speed internal hub and the cream of the crop all around as per componentry. it measures in at right around 12" center to center on the seat tube. little bikes are challenging! that's all for now, folks, that will have to do ya'll until i get back on the 19th. i'll get back to you ASAP if you drop me an e-mail i MAY be able to reply at some point, but it's hard to tell.............ciao for niao!, Steve.