Beauty and the Bicycle - First Screenings

Thanks and tip of the bicycle helmet to LondonCyclist for helping to highlight this little gem!

A while back I discovered the Beauty and the Bike site with these wonderful documentry short videos. Now it's show time!! A new and longer 55 minute version will be premiered and featured....

"The first screenings will Thursday 3rd December, in Kino Atlantis, Bremen, Germany; and Wednesday 9th December in Darlington Arts centre. Contact dmg@bikebeauty.org for ticket details. There’s also to be book and an accompanying DVD."

Etsy Bicycle Gift Guide Revisited

Just checked my last year's Holiday Etsy Bicycle themed Gift Guide Part I and Part II. Item after item sold out! Some bicycle gift lovers and givers really gave some support to Etsy artisans and crafters!

I considered doing another bicycle themed gift guide. Voila...Here is a link you can use to start your own bicycle themed search. There are 5,468 items on Etsy to peruse. Last year when I made my list there were around 600 items to look through. Wow... 5,468 bicycle gift items on Etsy this year!!! AMAZING...

Don't you love how things 'catch on'. A good idea always get imitated and what better and sincere compliment can there be!

Fire Engine Progresses Further

Keylined lugs, original headset, Wiennman centre pull brakes and seat post bolt from the green Raleigh. And stem!

Dutch/Aussie Hybrid

I just finished recovering this saddle for J.O. in the colour of the Dutch national football team, known as oranje. I dyed the leather myself and found the most suitable and available hide was kangaroo. Hence the Dutch/Aussie Hybrid. The saddle is a Specialized Toupe Ti and, incidentally, J.O's from Melbourne not Adelaide.

Surfer on a Bike with Surf Board -- Coming Soon in 3D

Surfer on Bike with Surf Board

Silly, now of course you can only see it in it's 2D version.

The above photo is my first 3D photo taken just yesterday. New camera excitement!
I'm loving learning how to use this new camera (finepix real3D). As far as I know it is not yet really being offered here in the US. I'm happy I get to borrow it from time to time because of the start up company I'm involved in. To appreciate the photo in 3D, there's viewing screen to see it on. Or if the shot turns out especially nice I can get a 3D print made. Should be fun playing with this camera ;)

*****
Historically speaking some of my favorite surfers on bikes with surf boards...

1971
(photocredit: via life by Bill Eppridge)

(surfer girl via getty images)

Thanksgiving - Warm Beach Day - Thanks!

Warm, beach weather this Thanksgiving Day in Santa Cruz. This photo was taken after today's breakfast. Fun, already a good game of volley ball was in play.

Now I'm back inside my kitchen. Thankful for the bounty... my beautiful Farmer's Market produce purchased just yesterday.

Bye, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Everyone!
Now signing off...as I begin cooking today's feast!!

Super Villains

For Nick's Skelletor build. Keep an eye out on the streets of Ney York City. Dyed to match Nick's Knog  Frog, thread is custom twisted with bees wax for a verigated chartreuse colour and a touch of purple...

Selle SMP: Comfortable

The Selle SMP Glider was certainly a challenge. It was kind of like recovering two saddles rolled into one. Twice the work, twice the blood, sweat and tears. I'm very pleased with the outcome though, it was all worth it. Keep an eye out for it on the streets of Adelaide. There seems to be something about Adelaide folk, they have a taste for complex saddles.

Three Tweed Riders - LA Tweed Ride

(Photocredit: kinamari )

This LA Tweed Ride photo was just too good! I knew I just had to share it with my readers. So I hunted it down. Lo and behold it was shot by kinamari aka Caryl... Caryl is one of four contributors over at Change your Life, Ride Your Bike. What a treat! So Enjoy!

++++
p.s. Speaking of contributors. Doing a blog and doing it with another contributor (or multi-contributors) sure makes a blog content rich, and easier to keep up! Lots of new stuff coming in each and everyday. hmmmm! Something to think about.....

A Romantic Homage - Girl on the Bicycle

(via shinelikechrome)

A photo that speaks to me on all sorts of levels.
If you look closely you will see pretty 'antique' dolls in her bicycle basket. I love her heart patterned leggings, the little fur shrug and of course the black balloons

I hope to be posting more this week...hmmm. Thanksgiving is such a busy and fun week with family and friends and travel. Holidays are upon us and it's just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.

Tyler at AT Showdown and His New Sponsor

On Satuday there was a contest at the Cow Palace in San Francisco called AT's Showdown. It was a head to head format with an hour qualifying jam beforehand to determine seeding for the finals. There were about 25 or so riders and that got whittled down to 16 riders. From there it was like dual slalom where the 1st place qualifier does one run against the 16th place qualifier and so on til it's down to 2. There were 4 judges that determined who would advance and who would be sitting on the sidelines.

The course was biggg and definitely suited my style. I felt real good during the qualifying jam and when the results came up, I was in 1st!! I was feeling pretty confident and made it to the round of 8 easily. Then I was matched up with Jamie Goldman who was the 8th place qualifier.

He threw down one of the best runs of the day and ended up knockin me out of the game. I was pretty bummed and wished that I had strategized my run a little better to beat his but it was all good, he deserved it and later went on to get 2nd place. My brother Cam won and I was super pumped for him. I ended up in 5th and was happy with that, but have higher hopes for the next contest I do. Check out some pics that I attached from the contest...the jumps were huge!

In other news, I recently signed with X Fusion and there was a press release that came out about it the other day. I shot with local photographer Justin Brantley and we worked hard for two long days of shooting to get the shots. I'm super happy with how it turned out and I'm also very happy to be working with X Fusion for 2010! Here's a link to the press release:

-Tyler

Last Night at the Track

For Barney

Selle Italia titanium flite recovered with decorative dot motifs to reflect the fine detail work on Thuy's recently acquired Barnswell frame. The saddle's done just need the rest of the bike now. There has been BB problems, stem problems......

Concorde Casino

Just finished this Rolls for Re(wind)cycle's recently refurbished Concorde track bike. Multi colour twisted thread cross stitch, perforated deco design backed with hand dyed green leather and the Concorde logo in a keyline relief.

Fire Engine Progresses

Thanks to the MFB, Phillip and Joe. Flo collected the frame on Friday, see his blog for more images.

DC Tweed Ride ..... a Charming Video

(Video by Piso Mojado)

This is a little memento gem to savour... kindly sharing a most nostalgic look at the recent Tweed Ride in Washington D.C.
Please enjoy!

"Presented by Dandies and Quaintrelles, the Washington DC First Semi-Annual Tweed Ride was held on November 15, 2009. We assembled in an alley (8th and H Streets NE), rode past the Capitol, the White House, and ended our tweed-clad, velocipedic journey at Marvin's on 14th Street NE where our thirsts were quenched with pints of beer and G&Ts."

Vintage Bicycle Pedicab - Dream Stuff

(photo: RidingPretty.com)

(photo: RidingPretty.com)

Oh, If I could just have one more bicycle!... dear 'bicycle goddess'...please let it be this vintage pedicab! I promise I would take my non bicycle riding friends for cafe excursions and peddle my heart out to get us all there in sweet style.

BIG Check-in from Tyler

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I've done an update and I've been up to a lot the past few weeks so I figured I'd send one out. At the end of last month was a jump jam at the post office jumps in my hometown of Aptos called the "Ham and Steeze Jam." It's always fun when events get organized here because this is the place that I grew up riding and digging at since I was 10 years old. The beginning of the day started with an amateur contest and then it ended with a pro demo that had awards for best trick, best steeze, and best overall rider. I rode real well and had a lot of fun and ended up getting 2nd place in all three of these categories. There were no prizes for 2nd here but it still felt good to know that I was up there in all of the categories. There were a lot of good photos and video that came from this jam and I've attached a few of them. Here is a link to a really good video that was made by a local filmer. I appear at 1:40

The day after the jam, I worked on a bike check on my GT Ruckus with Jordan from Pinkbike. It should be pretty entertaining so check for that coming up on the Pinkbike homepage sometime soon.

Since then I was lucky enough to get the chance to go out to Ray's MTB Park in Cleveland, Ohio for their grand opening. GT sent me out there and I met up with Romo to shred some of the best indoor riding in the world. There was a super big turnout and Ray set us, along with a few other riders, up in the kitchen and we served food to all of the customers and local riders.

It was a fun and different way to interact with everyone and then we all rode together after everyone was stuffed to their mouth. Some of my BMX hero's were in attendance as well and I got to ride with Anthony Napolitan and Daniel Dhers. Watching those dudes ride in their own element is nuts and I definitely had one of my favorite sessions ever riding with them in Ray's new "Rhythm Room." That's where I spent most of my time because the room is filled with box jumps of all shapes and sizes. Hips, step-ups, step-downs, and rollers make the big set feel like dirt jump trails and it made me feel just at home. I also spent a lot of time in the foam pit working on dialing in some new tricks and that was definitely productive for me. I finally figured out my 360 downside tailwhips and made more progress on the infamous bike-flip. That one still needs a little more practice though. Hopefully next time I make it out there, I'll be throwin them over the big set in the Rhythm Room! Thanks to GT for sending me out there and to Ray and his crew for the hospitality...I wish I could've stayed longer!

I got back from that Trip on Monday and then jumped right into filming with local videographer Josh Talatzko at the Post Office jumps once again. He had a cable cam set up across the span of the jump set and this was the first time anyone had one out there. I got a few good shots until about 10 minutes into shooting when I took one of the worst crashes ever. I just screwed up on a no footed can and next thing I knew I was on the ground. I hit my head super hard but luckily my Giro helmet saved my life. It was crushed but luckily my head wasn't. I was pretty concussed though and I haven't started riding yet since then. I'm taking a few days off to let my brain heal up a bit! There is a video of the crash and it ended up getting Video of the Day on Pinkbike the other day and already has 17,000 views. Not the best way to get views but hey, I'm glad it was on film! Check it out..


I plan to get back on the bike again tomorrow and take it slow. I'll be preparing for AT's Showdown at the Cow Palace in San Francisco this coming weekend so hopefully I'll be ready to go by then. After that I'll be preparing for the X Fusion Side Flight Championships in San Diego on the weekend of the 5th. It's a contest to see who can do the best whip and it's something that I'm pretty excited about. I'll let you know how all of that goes for me.

Thanks again for all of the continued support!

-Tyler