Jeff's bike going to paint, *more flower pics by popular request!!*

Jeff's 29er all polished up decked out with a full compliment of braze-ons. just about every bike i've been doing lately has used full length cable housing. i like that. little cable contamination due to dirt & grease getting into the open ferrules, and, i'm getting really good at brazing tiny "O's" together..........off for a layer of dark orange with clear top coat.

yet another brazing shot.......

Saturday i was really tired and was really stoked when it worked out that that was a good day for Nate to come over and build his new 650B. he stopped over after an initial test ride yesterday and the ride review: "dialed". he's got 26" & 29er bikes too { from Vulture cycles and Me, respectively} so it will be cool to get his long term input.

you would not believe - unless you are one of them - how many requests i get for "more flower pics!" so here you go, a real weird one. i thought it was another species of orchid but Good Buddy Planteo said thusly: ............. Cool! You found pinedrops! Pterospora sp. A member of the monotropaceae the Indain Pipe Family!! A hemiparsite.
I usually see them when they are bloomed out. They look like a stick of wood with dried christmas ornaments on it.
I rarely get to see them in bloom.
cool shot. Ted.

a closer view........i'm gonna try to get a close-up when the little flowers all open.

this is the orchid C. maculata in fruit.

a nice grove of Monarda - wild Oregano. it smelled AWESOME.

Denice talking with the Columbines.

there are white geraniums and reddish-purple geraniums, and on just one spot i see white ones with purple veins.......cool. the leaves are less pointy too.

cruising around looking at some deer's ears.

here's Gus about to rip my face off. just kidding! he wouldn't do that. more later, starting on Kyle's bike next. Steve.

trout porn!

check out this beauty i dredged up yesterday - 22" with a guesstimate of around 6lbs - it had some serious heft. i also got a 17.5"er that was damn nice, and Petito & Barry got allot of dandy 11-15"ers and Petito had a real trophy right up to the net when the knot busted......glory conditions, too. downright glassy at times.

this shows some of the mass of this fish - that's a 32 quart cooler! i had just said "man, we're DUE a 20+" trout this year! quite the fine day boating with guys i've know for 20yrs. Steve.

Jeff's frame coming together.

as it sits post brazing - i'll polish the whole thing down on Saturday & should get it to paint on Monday. a light frame for a light guy & effortlessly straight too.

a side view in front of Denise's fleet.

some very clean brazing on the headtube joints. that will clean up really quick. when you get good enough at brazing that all you edges just flash to a near molecular level it sure speeds up you finish polishing!

chasing the BB shell's threads - almost zero distortion. i then dummied up a shimano crankset and it fit perfectly. you gotta like that. this bike is a 29er that is going to live in Santa Fe, NM. this is bike #178, and Jeff also owns bike # 38, a 26er, which i think he's had since 03'? enjoy! gonna try & go boating tomorrow, rain allowing...............Steve.

a ride to the beautiful Inner Basin.

i got out on a ride to the San Francisco Peaks' inner basin the other day to try and ride to the highest altitude i could but got turned around at the final turn to Flagstaff springs due to lightning danger. coming down out of the IB is as fast as i've ever gotten the one-off, one crazy sled ride on any kind of wheeled vehicle!

Richardson's geranium & Lupines.

a close-up of a really cool species confined to the higher altitudes around here, Whipple's Penstemmon. i really dig the color on these babies.

a full - plant shot. i only see these guys at around 9,500+ feet elevation.

a view of a huge avalanche chute on Fremont Peak with the weather getting iffy......

Golden Columbines were going off. such a cool flower - the nectar is at the ends of the rearward facing tubes so that the pollinator like a hummingbird or moth has to reach deep into the flower for a treat, pollinating it.

Penstemmon Barbatus.

Mountain Sneezeweed. those big fat flies are the pollinators for these guys.

a nice deer's ears in the inner basin meadow.

grinding it out! conditions were really loose & rocky and i was quite blown out afterwards, but it sure is pretty up there. all the roads are maintained to service the wells Flagstaff gets much of it's water from but closed to motorised vehicles. that's pretty damn nice...........thanks for reading! Steve.

mid July 2009 - HOT!

Dave - your frame is back! i'll get it out ASAP. sparkly goodness!

t'was a late night on Jeff's frame, but it sure looks fine.

fast forward to this morning, and it's alignment checks all around.

here's something you don't see often - quite the backlog of work sitting around. purty! sorry for the quick post, i was up late last night building Aki's wheels & i'm really tired today & it's in the 90's at 7000ft. hot! i'm gonna go lay down until it cools down later - Steve.

first ride in awhile / Jeff P's frame coming along.

i got out on a much needed ride the other day. i was feeling pretty caged! i got to see this, the first albino loco weed i have ever seen.

we also saw some very elegant deer's ears. these are some of my favourite plants, and last year there were only a few despite good amounts of moisture - maybe they are biannual?

here's a little closer shot - as you can see, all kins of insects think this is some seriously good stuff!

finally, a close detail of one of the hundreds of flowers on each stalk.

a flagstaff penstemmon......

the Sego lilies are out! there are sooooo cool, especially in meadows by the hundreds!

a thistle.......

i got to ride in some grand aspen groves - what a treat.

it was quite cool & plush within.....

kickin' out Jeff's bike.......looking good & feeling light - i don't build many 29ers for people who weigh 120lbs.

super cool new gizmo! this thing is seriously great. Jeff at Sputnik tool made it. both H2O holes all lined up right where you want them, fast.

as it looked this morning........more later, gonna try and hit the lake tomorrow, weather allowing! Steve.

Nate's bike, Aki's bike, Dave's bike and Jeff's plans...........

Nate's bike came back from Spectrum & looks as seamless as always - a deep sparkly eggplant. some 650B lovin' waiting to hit the trails!

i'm really stoked for him to return and build it up, i'll get some pics of it up as soon as we got it all assembled.

Aki's bike finally all prepped. i *think* all i need for it is the Phil BB & to lace the wheels. which front do you wanna run? the snow rim or the 29er? i would think the 29er would be fun in Flagstaff, but the snow rim is alluring.........

it's certainly orange!

Dave's bike ready for paint - finally.

she's mighty purty, though!

Coconino cocktail, anyone? mmmmmmm...............

still hot H2O bosses - the flux hasn't even crinkled & fractured yet.

Jeff's frame all drawn up. looking good! i ended up stretching the effective toptube to an even 24" - the front end was looking pretty tight with the 72* HT angle. it's still tight, but looking all right! thanks for the SWEET drafting set, CW!! *very* nice............... Steve.